Cadbury forced to shut as taps are turned off
Cadbury and Jaguar Land Rover halt production and waterless residents’ fury grows over paltry payouts
The big thaw stopped production at Cadbury and Jaguar Land Rover factories as it caused chaos to water supplies. As householders in the worst affected areas struggled with little or no water because of burst mains, it emerged that they may be eligible for just £20 in compensation.
MAJOR British brands including Cadbury and Jaguar Land Rover were forced to shut their factories yesterday, as they became the latest victims of the national water shortage.
Production of Cadbury Bournville chocolate ceased as the Birminghambased plant in which it is made lost its water supply, its US owner Mondelēz confirmed. Retail chocolate stocks will not be immediately affected as Cadbury has a large volume of backup reserves.
Last night limited manufacturing resumed, as Severn Trent water – which supplies the Cadbury and Land Rover sites – confirmed the situation had been resolved.
The water disruptions have been caused by the recent freezing weather. Around the country water pipes froze during the cold snap, and many ruptured due to rapid thawing.
Jaguar Land Rover has also been forced to temporarily close two of its main UK plants. Its Solihull plant in the West Midlands was temporarily shut and its Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham will also close from this morning, a spokesman said. The situation is being “closely monitored” but it is not known when either will reopen.
Meanwhile it emerged that households across the UK that are left without water amid the national shortage will be entitled to as little as £20 in compensation.
Residents who have found themselves without working lavatories, showers and sinks have felt forced into spending hundreds of pounds to stay in hotels, while others have had to stay off work or hire costly childcare because schools are closed. However, under Ofwat the water regulator’s official redress scheme, households are entitled to minimum automatic compensation of £20, plus £10 for every further day they are without water.
Thames Water, the worst affected supplier, said it would not provide any further compensation for residents who had chosen to stay in hotels unless their home was damaged. It pays compensation of £30 plus £10 for every day households are without water.
Iain Simpson a councillor for Lambeth, one of the worst affected areas in the UK, said: “It’s hard to imagine that £50 is adequate compensation for all they [residents] have suffered and the expenses they may have incurred, especially vulnerable older residents or those with young children. Lambeth cabinet members have already written to Michael Gove calling for an inquiry into how Thames Water has handled the situation. Any inquiry should also look at compensation for our residents, who have been left suffering while Thames Water made a record £638 million in pre-tax profit last year.”
In Cumbria some villages are still completely isolated after being snowed in by the Beast from the East, with residents
‘It’s hard to imagine that £50 is adequate compensation’
forced to burn furniture to keep warm. A resident of the Cumbrian village of Nenthead, one of the highest in England, said snowdrifts had still not melted, leaving stranded householders resorting to the desperate measures.
Laura Seaton, 38, said: “We’ve got a hell of a lot of houses that have been completely and utterly cut off ... because the drifts that have been up there have been quite incredible.”