LOCAL FIRMS WARN OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
LOCAL businesses are increasingly concerned that “mindless vandals’ entering a multi-storey car park at night could kill someone by throwing heavy items onto a public footpath.
Springbridge Car Park in Ealing Broadway is owned by Ealing Council but concerned business owners are worried that a spate in antisocial behaviour particularly at weekends could end up with someone being seriously hurt.
One local business owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “While the vandalism in itself is an inconvenience the major concern is the items being thrown such as heavy barriers, bottles and sandbags could potentially kill someone or at best seriously injure them.
“On the weekend you are getting people inside drinking and playing loud music but they can’t do anything about it as you can’t lock the car park.” The car park was reportedly once manned by 24-hour security and until recently had a steel barrier keeping out anyone wishing to break in at night.
According to locals around six weeks ago, an aluminium barrier was installed to protect the car park but had been subsequently bent allowing for vandals to continue to enter. “The first week they put the new barriers in someone literally tore them open and it turned out they were only aluminium gates so they’re not really very strong or fit for purpose,” the business owner said.
“And now it’s going to take six weeks to repair and the car park now has 24-hour access for anyone that wants to get in.”
Even recently installed close circuit television (CCTV) appears to not have deterred people from entering the car park at night.
The main concern is for local residents who need to walk down a council-owned public footpath to access their homes.
The pathway runs alongside the car park and there is a real worry someone will be injured when anything from road barriers to traffic cones lands on top of them.
“There is a lot of pedestrian traffic along the path certainly in the daytime and at night you still get a fair share of people walking through,” the business owner said.
The local businesses are calling for fencing or netting to be put up around the car park to ensure that nothing dangerous can be thrown onto the areas below.
“Making it secure involves spending money but no one wants to do that at the moment because of spending on coronavirus,” the business owner added.
“It will probably take something bad to happen before anyone spends any money.”
MyLondon has contacted Ealing Council for comment.
It will probably take something bad to happen before anyone spends any money.
Local business owner