Residents in the "worst estate in the UK" have complained of the conditions with some saying they feel trapped.
London’s Grahame Park in Barnet, has seen some residents complaining they’ve been “left to rot” while others have warned that parts of the estate are “no-go zones” with 150 arrests made there in a recent two-month period. Some locals have said that the estate’s central block has become a hive of criminal activity.
Others have complained of people smoking, drinking and even sleeping right outside their front doors, with some in the past having been forced to call the cops. One resident who has been living on the estate for two decades, 55-year-old mum of two Georgina, toldThe Sun: "It's rough in this estate. There’s drugs and alcoholism. Everything is here… I basically feel like I have been locked up for years".
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Other residents told of “crackheads” who frequently cause trouble for the locals trying to get on with their day-to-day lives. One mother, Victoria Riche, 34, explained how “drug dealers” were “ruining” the estate and she now feared for the safety of her young daughter.
“Last time my daughter was playing in my back garden and she nearly fell on top of a needle," she said. To make matters worse, residents have been informed that the estate is being rebuilt but many claim that they don’t yet know where they are going to be moved to, leaving some feeling they’d “been left to rot”. Some 300 new homes were approved by Barnet Council earlier this year.
Local councillor Barry Rawlings said: "Blocks are being fitted with new secure door entry systems and extensive CCTV is being installed. We’re investing £32m into improvement works in homes in Grahame Park, providing new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors, and significant fire safety works in public areas. We’re also investing £2 million to tackle damp and mould in social housing across the borough of Barnet including Grahame Park.
“We know, however, there is still some way to go. That is why making sure that Grahame Park’s residents can enjoy the safe, clean, happy estate they deserve is a priority for us and we will continue to drive change until the job is done.”
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