07 March 2009

Drugs plague on Ethelred Estate


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Drugs plague on Ethelred Estate

Thursday, 05 March 2009

Resident Begoña Mendez in front of Pory House

Resident Begoña Mendez in front of Pory House

ANGRY residents have hit out at a council over security problems on their estate.

Residents on the Ethelred Estate in Kennington claim drug dealers and users continue to plague the area – a problem that has gone on for years.

They successfully lobbied Lambeth council for CCTV cameras, which were installed in early 2008.

But they say since then the situation hasn’t improved, and they don’t believe the cameras are being monitored properly.

Begoña Mendez, 39, who has lived in Pory House in Lambeth Walk for 10 years, said: “The council says the CCTV is working.

“But we don’t know whether they are actually checking the CCTV monitors every day and watching out for crime.

"That’s what they should be doing.

“The council has totally neglected our area for years.

“In my block there used to be drug dealers on the stairs every day.

"We had people sleeping in the lift and I was mugged by two young kids here.

“The security doors have helped, but then they broke, meaning anyone could come in. It took the council a year before they were fixed.”

The council has acknowledged problems on the estate in the past, and has outlined improvements worth £14.6million that would see three tower blocks on the estate refurbished.

A council spokeswoman said: “We understand tenants’ desire for an efficient CCTV system.

“We are exploring all possible options for providing an effective security system to ensure that something suitable is up and running in the spring.”

Email: nadia.gilani@slp.co.uk

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