Herring Court Incident Update

1 May 2025

We are able to provide more details on the situation at Herring Court and when we will be able to give residents a more detailed timetable for returning home.

Safety checks and remedial works 

We can confirm that the electrical engineering team arrived on site this morning. They have started the work needed to restore power to the building. Safety is always the priority and so the electrical systems will need to be thoroughly tested before allowing access. We expect a report on their progress in the next few days.  

Meanwhile the contractors appointed to survey the damage and make good are working towards completing their initial reports. Once we have those reports we will be able to tell you how long the building will be out of action.  We know that it is disappointing not to have more information today. Our senior executive team is doing all we can to speed up this process. 

What we can say about the timings is that some households may be able to return home sooner than others. This will depend on how much damage the water caused. To help assess this, the contractors will be inspecting individual flats. Some of you will have already been contacted about arranging access to your home. 

The Reside Team is working to try and speed up this process too. 

Rent and energy costs 

We have received some enquiries relating to rent payments and charges for use of energy because you are not in your homes. We hope it will be helpful to clarify the position on these issues. 

While all tenants of Herring Court remain liable for the standing charges for energy and any ongoing usage in your home (which should be very low), tenants are not currently being charged or billed for any energy or utility usage in your temporary properties.  

Similarly with rents, in common with standard practice, all tenants continue to be liable for the rent charges on your tenancies at Herring Court but are not being charged for rents in your temporary homes.  

Keeping you informed 

We know that information and communication are very important for you all. To ensure that everyone is able to access the most up to date information, including the progress towards a clear timetable for the return to Herring Court, we are asking everyone to visit the news page on the Reside website. I would also urge all residents to ensure that we have your email address and your mobile number. This way we can ensure people are fully informed promptly and accurately. We also need to be sure that any concerns or issues can be dealt with quickly and managed by the appropriate teams. You can provide your preferred contact details either via our website or by emailing enquiries@bdreside.co.uk.  

This means we will only be taking calls made via the call centre (LBBD help desk) at 0208 215 3000. Calls or messages made to other numbers will not be received. 

I will write to you again in the coming days when I hope to have an update from the reports into the electrical system.