Emergency plumber in Alexandra Park and Wood Green
The streets around Alexandra Palace climb from Wood Green up to one of the best views in London. The palace itself, opened in 1873 and rebuilt after fires in 1873 and 1980, is where the BBC made its first television broadcasts in 1936. Below it, N22 is a patchwork of Victorian and Edwardian terraces, the planned cottages of Noel Park and the busy High Road of Wood Green.
Terraces, old and well loved
Most homes here are terraced houses built between the 1880s and the First World War, many now divided into flats. Their plumbing has been added to for a century: rear extensions, loft bathrooms, combination boilers and long waste runs. The problems we see most are leaks from upper-floor bathrooms, supply pipes that have corroded or still contain lead, and drains shared between neighbouring houses that block and back up.
Noel Park: a planned estate
Noel Park was built from 1881 by the Artizans, Labourers and General Dwellings Company, with two-storey terraces and pairs in five classes of house, and an Arts and Crafts phase from 1905. It has been a conservation area since 1982, with an Article 4 direction controlling some external changes. Its houses are small and densely built, so a leak or a blocked drain can quickly affect the neighbours. Moselle Avenue runs along the line of the River Moselle, which still flows, mostly culverted, beneath the estate.
Worth knowing: The Moselle rises near Highgate and flows through Wood Green and Noel Park towards Tottenham. More than three quarters of it runs underground, which is part of why low-lying streets nearby can take water in a cloudburst.
When the mains go
On 31 May 2021, a burst water main flooded Wood Green High Road with around 30cm of water. Four fire engines were sent and one person was rescued. Big mains run under the busy roads here, and when one fails, nearby basements and ground floors are first in line. If water is pouring in from the street, call 999 if anyone is at risk, report it to Thames Water, then call us to protect what is inside.
Conservation around the palace
Haringey designated the Alexandra Palace and Park conservation area in 1978, Wood Green Common in 1976 and Noel Park in 1982. External changes such as a new flue on the front of a house can need permission. We look for a route at the back first and tell you before anything changes outside.
From Alexandra Park Road to Noel Park, call 07862 142953 or send us a photo on WhatsApp. See blocked toilet or drain if water is coming back up.
Alexandra Park at a glance
- Postcodes we cover
- N22
- Streets we often visit
- Alexandra Park Road
- Victoria Road
- Palace Gates Road
- Princes Avenue
- Braemar Avenue
- Muswell Avenue
- Rosebery Road
- Gladstone Avenue
- Russell Avenue
- Salisbury Road
- Darwin Road
- Moselle Avenue
- Local landmarks
- Alexandra Palace
- Alexandra Park
- Wood Green Common
- Alexandra Palace station
- Wood Green and Bounds Green stations
- Noel Park
- Common problems here
- Leaks and blocked drains in Victorian and Edwardian terraces
- Flooding from burst mains under busy roads
- Low-lying homes near the culverted River Moselle
- Old supply pipes and shared drains behind terraced houses
- Changes to the outside of homes in the Noel Park and Alexandra Palace conservation areas
Questions people ask
My house is in Noel Park. Are there rules about changes outside?
Noel Park is a conservation area, and its own Article 4 direction controls some external changes. An emergency repair that stops a leak and puts things back as they were is fine. If a lasting fix would change pipework or a flue on the outside, check with Haringey's planning team first, and we will tell you if it might.
The drain at the back is shared with next door. Who fixes it?
In terraces, drains often run behind several houses before reaching the sewer. Since 2011, most shared drains and sewers outside a property's boundary have been the water company's responsibility. We clear the blockage and tell you which part it was in, so you know who should pay.
Do you cover Bounds Green and Muswell Hill?
We cover N22, which includes Alexandra Park, Wood Green and the parts of Bounds Green within N22.
How quickly can you get to Wood Green?
We aim to be with you within 60 minutes, day or night.
Sources
- Alexandra Park, London, Wikipedia
- Noel Park, Wikipedia
- List of conservation areas in Haringey, Haringey Council
- Burst water main: Wood Green (May 2021), London Fire Brigade
- Forget France, London has its own River Moselle, Londonist
- The Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011, legislation.gov.uk
- Alexandra Palace, Wikipedia