One park was left unmaintained for a year while a footpath has become a haven for fly-tipping and drug taking, reports James Cracknell

Alf Linney and Cellina Doswell from React, in Little Angel Park

An Angel Edmonton community group has accused Enfield Council of “neglecting” the area after a park was left unmaintained for over a year and a footpath became a dumping ground for drugs paraphernalia and fly-tipped waste.

Residents of Edmonton Angel Community Together (React) invited the Dispatch to visit Little Angel Park earlier this month to see the way it had been “left in ruins”, as well as other issues in surrounding streets.

Within seconds of setting foot in the park the Dispatch witnessed a rat scuttle towards a bin that was badly overflowing and also had a massive hole in its base, allowing rubbish to spill out. It was also clear the park hadn’t had seen any kind of mowing or weeding all year long, with the tallest weeds towering to around ten feet tall and obscuring the play area. Benches had holes and an area of decking was also falling apart.

Alf Linney, secretary of React, said: “We are very frustrated because we have this local park but the kids can’t play in it. The main concern is there is no maintenance going on here now at all.”

Cellina Doswell, React’s vice chair, added: “It is a health and safety hazard. It’s a tragedy […] the park is supposed to be a sanctuary for children and families and this is a densely populated area. Some people still use it but others are avoiding it.”

Two days after the Dispatch visited the park in the first week of August, a council maintenance team finally showed up to clear the weeds. They also removed the broken bin and surrounding litter, but did not replace the bin.

The bin at Little Angel Park before it was removed
Weeds and overgrown plants at Little Angel Park before they were cut back
Fly-tipping along an Angel Edmonton footpath
A box of needles in the alleyway
Another overflowing bin at Florence Green

Little Angel Park was significantly reduced in size several years ago when a school was built on part of it, and it’s now overshadowed by the Meridian Water development with hundreds of new residents set to move in shortly.

React had been lobbying the council to tackle various problems in the park for months and, while there have now been improvements, the group will be monitoring it closely to ensure it is not ignored again in future.

Cellina said: “We just want to be treated the way the affluent part of the borough is treated – this wouldn’t happen in Broomfield Park, so why are we treated like this?”

Other parts of Angel Edmonton are also neglected. An alleyway between York Road and Sayesbury Lane is one particularly shocking example. When the Dispatch visited in early August, the footpath was strewn with dozens of black bags of waste, an open box of needles, an abandoned pram, nitrous oxide canisters and piles of food waste and beer cans.

On a secondary visit two weeks later, while the drugs paraphernalia had gone there was a similar amount of rubbish visible overall, with a sofa added to the list of dumped items.

Cellina said: “We have been emailing the council with evidence of the things they have neglected and have asked them for interventions. We are fighting fly-tipping, drug-dealing, prostitution, and our park being left in ruins.”

The evidence of neglect collected by the Dispatch was sent to the council for a response. A spokesperson pointed out the borough has “experienced exceptional plant and grass growth due to warm and wet weather” and had seen “litter and fly-tipping incidents, including in Little Angel Park” but that the council was aware of the issues and was “working hard to repair and maintain the park to our highest standards”.

They added: “We have been working with the community of Angel Edmonton to create an ambitious programme of place-making interventions, including improvements to the high street, access to public art, better transport and accessibility and rejuvenated green spaces. We continue to engage with residents, voluntary groups, businesses, and wider community to develop this vision.

“The programme of improvements, initiated by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth funding, will continue with the £11.9million government funding for the area, which will invest heavily in public realm and green spaces across Upper Edmonton – including Florence Green.

“In addition, the regeneration of the Joyce and Snells Park estates will deliver more than 2,000 new homes, with 53% designated as affordable, with enhanced safety measures, designing out crime, and creating high-quality, new, public green spaces for the community.

“Meanwhile, the police and council are committing significant resources as part of an ongoing programme to address organised crime in Upper Edmonton as part of the National Police Chiefs Council’s ‘clear hold build’ approach. We are seeing some early progress; this is a long-term piece of work which we are committed to.

“However, strategic funding is fundamental to enable our place-making schemes, pragmatic public realm enhancements and improvements to community safety. The council will therefore continue to engage with the government and other bodies to ensure that our commitments to Upper Edmonton remain at the top of the funding agenda.”

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