Drug dealers targeted as part of antisocial behaviour crackdown on Brent housing estate

"Intimidating" drug dealers on a housing estate in Brent have been given their marching orders, after complaints they were using communal areas to commit crime.

Brent Housing Partnership’s (BHP) Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Team says it has put a stop to badly behaved loiterers and drug dealers on the Stonebridge estate.

Residents had complained about people congregating in the external communal areas of the estate for all hours of the day and night.

BHP said it appeared that none of these people lived in the block, but were using the area as a base to hang around and sell drugs - leaving residents intimidated in their own homes.

Now, an action plan has been put in place to install additional CCTV, restrict access to the communal areas where the group hung around, and remove abandoned vehicles to clean up the estate.

Police will also monitor dispersal zones and a letter has been sent out encouraging residents to report incidents.

Deborah Noel, antisocial behaviour team manager at BHP said: “We are happy to see a reduction in ASB on this estate, and would like to thank our residents as well as our partners in the Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and Brent Council for helping us put a stop to this unacceptable behaviour.

"We will continue to take serious action on ASB across estates in Brent, and urge residents to speak to us about any matters of concern."

Geoffrey Thornes, BHP ASB Officer, visited the area during the day to collect information from residents, with the BHP Warden Service making additional visits outside office hours.

The local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team were also informed and involved.

Working together and sharing information with the police and Brent Council, all parties involved agreed the measures in an action plan.

"Once the plan was implemented there was an immediate reduction on the number of ASB calls to BHP and the police and the perpetrators are no longer using this location for their activities," a spokesman for BHP said.

Brent Housing Partnership is an arms length management organisation (ALMO) owned by Brent Council and is responsible for managing and maintaining 12,500 of the council’s housing stock as well as developing new homes and owning 300 of its own properties.

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