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An information hub for residents affected by the flooding caused by a burst pipe in Brisbane House, Tilbury, has been established at Tilbury Library and Community Hub, Civic Square, Tilbury, RM18 8AD. It will be open from 10am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, 15 and 16 November. Officers will be on hand to provide support and answer questions.
Alternatively affected residents can call 07824 409 839 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, or 01375 372 468 outside of these hours (including all weekend) and an officer will be happy to help.
13 November 2025
Thurrock Council has confirmed today (13 November) that it continues to support residents of Brisbane House while a burst water pipe’s after-effects are dealt with. The council is assessing the damage following the flood late yesterday led to flooding throughout the block, meaning that residents are now either in temporary accommodation provided by the council or staying with friends or family.
Council teams have been working hard on-site from last night, right through today, making contact with residents to make sure they are safe, secure and have somewhere to stay while urgent works are done to fix the problem. Residents who have been housed in temporary accommodation have had their stay confirmed until early next week.
The leak means that residents are not able to access their homes, although the council is arranging to escort residents who need to collect urgent items such as medication.
The council has set up a dedicated reception and information centre at Tilbury Library and Community Hub, which will remain open to assist residents from 3pm until 6.45pm today and throughout the day tomorrow (Friday 14 November) from 10am until 4.45pm. This information hub will be staffed throughout and provides a single point of accurate information, advice and support for residents. As part of its support to Brisbane House residents, the council has reached out to organisations such as local housing associations, and the RSPCA for residents who have pets, and security has been put in place to keep the location secure.
Cllr. Mark Hurrell, Cabinet Member for Social Housing comments: “On behalf of the council, I want to apologise to residents of Brisbane House for the significant disruption they are facing while the council deals with this incident. Time is needed to assess the extent of any damage and to enable us to confirm when the building will be safe for them to return to.
“We’re doing our best to make sure we have proactively contacted all residents – we have door-knocked on all flats, made calls and sent text messages to make sure that everyone is safe – and we can confirm that is the case.
“Our priority now is to support residents who have been displaced temporarily by what I appreciate must have been a shocking and scary experience. We have worked to get information and advice to those who need it in a way which responds to their needs. We’ll continue to build on that as we grip the situation further and move to confirming as to when residents can expect to be able to access their homes again. If any residents are especially concerned about the future standard of their home, I encourage early engagement with our Housing team. We will provide further updates as soon as we can.
“In the meantime, I want to thank everyone involved in managing this urgent situation – including residents who have been patient and co-operative, our officer team who have worked overnight to keep people safe and our local partners and Tilbury Library and Community Hub for providing the space to set up our resident information centre.”
12 November 2025
Tonight (Wednesday 12 November) Thurrock Council has been supporting residents who have had to temporarily leave Brisbane House in Tilbury after a burst pipe caused flooding which affected the electricity supply in the block. To keep everyone safe, and on advice from the utility company, we have shut off the power to the building, asked residents to leave the premises, and set up a rest centre for those who are unable to stay with family or friends. Vulnerable residents are being supported, and emergency accommodation will be provided for those who need it.
The water pumps for the other two neighbouring blocks – Freemantle House and Tasmania House – are also located in Brisbane House. Because the power has been shut off in that block, the water in those blocks is likely to run out overnight, although their electricity is unaffected. Council officers will be delivering bottled water to these residents and asking them to limit their water use. Emergency repairs will be carried out first thing in the morning.
We are hugely grateful to residents for their patience and cooperation, and to our colleagues in the emergency services, and the British Red Cross, for supporting local residents through this incident tonight.
