Yorkshire Water compensation: 3,500 Sheffield households hit by 'gas flood' will get £60 each from water company

On Friday, Cadent Gas confirmed every household hit by the catastrophic Stannington ‘gas flood’ was now reconnected to the mains supply, two weeks after the disastrous incident.

It came after a Yorkshire Water high-pressure mains pipe in Stannington Road burst and tore into gas pipes belonging to Cadent Gas Ltd on December 2. The disaster caused water to pour into the gas supply, knocking out heating for more than 3,000 homes in the area and leaving thousands of people without hot water or central heating. Even as work began immediately to repair it, some households were left in the cold for the whole two weeks during this past week’s sub-zero temperatures.

How much compensation is Yorkshire Water paying for homes in Stannington, Hillsborough and Malin Bridge?

Now, Yorkshire Water has confirmed how much it will pay to the 3,500 households who lost heating as result of the fiasco – a £60 cash-in-bank payment to each customer, paid automatically by the end of next week.

Anyone affected by water damage can also make a claim directly to the utility provider through their website, or by calling 01274 25055. The provider says claims will be dealt with case by case.

It comes as Cadent Gas has paid an average of £900 per household for loss of gas during the incident, with more for the most severely affected.

Residents told The Star they found the £60 offer “an insult” and felt the entire incident was “their fault in the first place”.

Chris Brzozowski and his family had to endure eight days without any heating after coming home from the hospital on December 3 with their newborn baby.

He said: “£60 isn't very good given all the hardships everyone has faced. They’re taking the mickey – it’s a fraction of what they should be offering. When you consider the cost of extra energy, of driving to other people’s homes for a shower, of living with no heating, no, it’s not very good at all. I rather they didn’t bother.

"I don’t think they’ve accepted responsibility and to suggest £60 is fair compensation for all the hardships we faced is a laugh. Not one person affected will think this is fair compensation."

Another resident, Edna Jones, is living with a weakened immune system and went nine days without heating. She was concerned the cold would cause her to fall ill while waiting for repairs.

It comes after it emerged the pipe that burst on Stannington Road was 52 years old and made with asbestos cement. There were nine other mains water leaks in the Stannington area in the past year.

He son, Tim Jones, said: “Yorkshire Water are making huge profits since it was privatised and this measly sum of money is ridiculous.

"How can there still be clay and ceramic piping? If there are pipes that age it shows they haven’t invested in their infrastructure. It’s deplorable. It was a disaster waiting to happen. How many more of these clay pipes are there in the ground that could rupture next?”

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water told The Star: “We are offering £60 as an initial automatic payment to help cover additional costs residents in Stannington and Hillsborough may have had over the last two weeks. We have created a dedicated web page and direct phone number to help customers who have water damage in their homes to access further compensation.

“Our teams have also been on the ground offering dig resources and plumbing teams to help support Cadent in getting properties back onto gas supplies.

“Our customers service teams have been helping with welfare checks on the most vulnerable people and we continue to offer support where it's needed."

The spokesperson confirmed the utility provider will hold an enquiry into the incident. Findings from an initial investigation around what happened and what plans are in place with reportedly be published tomorrow (Sunday).

It is understood the CEO of Yorkshire Water, Nicola Shaw, will appear on BBC Politic’s North on BBC One at 10am on Sunday (December 18).

In a visit to the area this week, MP for Sheffield Hallam Olivia Blake said: “If action isn’t taken to maintain and upgrade old water pipes it won’t be long until something like this happens again. Serious lessons must be learnt and urgent action taken by Yorkshire Water so that no community has to go through the devastation that ours has.”

Meanwhile, Stannington councillor Penny Baker said: “There needs to be questions asked of Yorkshire Water. There needs to be an enquiry. I understand there have been more leaks at the corner of School Lane. There must have been 2,000 more homes built in the area in recent years. The mains are 50 years old.”

It comes Cadent Gas Ltd is paying on average £900 to each household for the loss of gas and heating. The provider reportedly pumped over 1million litres of water from the affected area’s gas pipes over the course of repairs.