Councillor Leaps To Defence of Brentford Towers
Article describes estate as intimidating and '22 storeys of misery'
Reporter prompted to visit by People Just Do Nothing. Picture: BBC
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There has been a robust reaction from a local councillor to a news report which described the Brentford Towers estate as intimidating and ’22 storeys of misery’.
In the article, which appeared on the My London web site published by Reach PLC, the reporter described seeing a number of confrontations during a brief visit and pledged not to return.
Prompted to check out the area by the fame brought to the towers by their appearance in BBC Three’s People Just Do Nothing in which they are home to Kurupt FM, the reporter states, “They cast an intimidating shadow on the area around them, getting underneath them is much worse - 22 storeys of misery.
“I was instantly bemused as to why it was so quiet when I arrived on the estate, but it was a working day, and not great weather outside, so I blamed it on that.
“I later came to the conclusion that people weren’t outside due to the intimidating atmosphere I had walked right into.
“This must have angered the residents as the people I did see on the street weren’t happy with each other.”
He tells of encountering two men having an argument in a local shop over a bottle of Lucozade and how he departed before they came to blows.
Then he came to the newly built Cruyff Court in the centre of the estate where he says he witnessed a brawl nearly starting between two football teams.
The writer, Finn Byrne concludes, “On reflecting back to whether I would return to the Towers, I don’t think I would. I visited for an experience and this is what I gained. It gave me an understanding of the tense estate Kurupt FM were imitating being on.
"I have no business returning to Brentford Towers, even if I did, I would be strongly against it.”
This view of the area has been hotly disputed by Cllr Guy Lambert who says that in ten years of visiting the estate he has never once felt threatened and that complaints of crime and anti-social behaviour are few and far between.
He added, “Our local Police confirm the estate (and Brentford in general) has few problems and I was rather astonished that the reporter, Finn Byrne, from My London, found his visit so harrowing.
"I have discussed this with the Chairwoman of the Brentford Residents’ Association and we would like to offer Mr Byrne a guided tour where we will serve as bodyguards, so that he should get a good idea of what really goes on here.
“The truth is, there is good community spirit, beautiful landscaping and secure and happy residents, and hopefully - he won’t find that too intimidating.”
Cllr Lambert points out that the council has recently completed an an investment of over £8m to transform and improve the estate with new external waste bins and recycling facilities, LED lamp posts and improved footways, carriageways and car parks as well as the popular Cruyff Court pitch.
He concluded, “Brentford Towers, and the wider Green Dragon Estate, is a proud community – and rightly so, and I’m proud to serve them as their Councillor.”
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September 10, 2021
