Angry residents say street drinking and fights are ‘making their lives hell’

Street drinking and late-night fights in a West London town are “making residents’ lives hell”. People living in Harlesden, North West London, said they are “fed up” with dealing with anti-social behaviour every day, and have urged the police and council to intervene.

There have been reports of drinkers urinating in public, smoking in people’s doorways and acting aggressively towards shoppers. Local residents have spoken of how they feel they have been neglected, with some suggesting they will be left with no choice but to leave the area.

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Others said the town centre is “unwelcoming”, as people are fearful of being confronted by street drinkers. Ruvio Noinoi said Harlesden’s Jubilee Clock Tower, a particular hotspot for anti-social behaviour, has been “taken over” by those drinking in public.

He said: “It’s absolutely disgusting, especially when the sun comes out. People sit there drinking from the early hours of the morning. There’s rubbish everywhere, I’ve had graffiti sprayed on my door, I’ve had people pee on my doorstep, and they’re always getting into fights. It’s hell for us.”

Sami Azim, who works in Harlesden, said all parts of the town centre have been blighted by street drinkers. He said there are occasionally efforts to move them on, but they will return a few hours later.

Several bottle caps thrown next to a tree in Harlesden

Sami said: “It’s not a good look for the area – it means people won’t come here, which is bad for business. You see people falling over, fighting each other. There are cameras but that doesn’t seem to stop them.”

Maggie Cox, from the Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum, said there is an ongoing campaign to make the town safer and more appealing but there is “still a long way to go”. She spoke of how there were concerns about benches in the town centre, which were attracting anti-social behaviour.

Maggie said: “We know that Harlesden isn’t ready for benches. They say it’s to support older people, but these people are too scared to visit.”

She later said there are plans to introduce more police in the area, which will hopefully act as a deterrent or lead to greater enforcement and, ultimately, tackle the main problems.

Brent Council has made Harlesden town centre a “cumulative impact zone”, which means it is more difficult for businesses to obtain alcohol licences in an effort to curb street drinking.

On Wednesday (February 2), the council rejected a newsagent’s bid to sell booze on the grounds there were already multiple similar shops within “a few minutes walk” of each other.

Local councillor Mili Patel said she understood the need to support businesses but said it was important to have a range of shops. She said: “We do have an issue with street drinking, and this can impact on other crimes. We’ve had to deal with prostitution, littering, all sorts of anti-social behaviour.

“I’m concerned about older people visiting – it should be a welcoming town centre, but we need to clean up the problems.”

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https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/angry-residents-say-street-drinking-22987103

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