Crouch Hill closed to traffic as Thames Water repairs leak

The A1201 Crouch Hill is closed both ways from Haringey Park to The Broadway for the next week as Thames Water repairs a leak, with bus diversions in place for the W5 and W7 routes.

In May the water company worked in the road to replace a valve and in July last year closed for a fire hydrant exchange.

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Former Crouch End councillor David Winskill said: "Why is this stretch of road continuously being dug up?

"The frequency of these works means traffic chaos and longer journey to work for the thousands of people that use the W7 bus every morning and evening. Now it's a magical mystery tour just to get to Finsbury Park.

Recently resurfaced Crouch Hill is dug up again to fix a leak causing bus diversions and chaos for commuters (Image: David Winskill)

"Many people feel that Thames Water has an obligation to come up with a once-and-for-all, long-term solution to whatever is causing these recurring problems."

He said repairs have become an annual occurance, adding: "Every year they have to come back. That's just wrong. It costs a lot of money to renew it all. It's just sloppy.

“It’s hard to know whether the ‘We’ll be Back’ sign on the barriers is a promise or a threat.”

Lewis Freeman, who owns Dunns bakery opposite the roadworks, said: “This little stretch of road has had more excavations in the past decade than Stonehenge in the past century.”

Also on the W7 bus route, an 80m stretch of the south end of Stroud Green Road is being dug up by UK Power Networks with traffic signals holding up the buses, causing more issues for commuters.

Thames Water is fixing a leak in Crouch Hill closing the road for more than a week (Image: David Winskill)

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We are sorry to residents and motorists for any disruption whilst we carry out work on Crouch Hill.

"Our engineers are repairing a leak over the next week, during which time, a road closure and diversion will remain in place.

"We have 200 repair teams working tirelessly to fix leaks with activity taking place seven days a week and over 280 people working round the clock and mainly overnight to detect leaks not yet appearing at ground level.”