Bunhill Ward councillors have welcomed news that plans to tackle crime and build more homes on the Triangle Estate have been approved by the Council. The changes will significantly improve conditions on the estate and put local people first.

The plans will improve security and provide a long term solution to anti-social behaviour issues on the estate. The number of entrances to the estate will be reduced from 28 to 11 by building new homes into the entrances. The estate has been troubled with anti-social behaviour and crime, and the many entrances to the estate made this harder to tackle in the past.

The plans also address the pressing need to build more genuinely affordable housing, which is a priority for the Council. 54 new homes, of which half will be council homes for social rent, will be built. These will include family-sized homes and one-bed and two-bed dwellings, alongside the current mix of one and two bed units on the estate.

The new dwellings will be built by creating additional floors and an extension on existing residential blocks, demolishing a garage, retail unit and six existing dwellings, and filling in some of the entrances to the estate.

One of the blocks will also incorporate new bicycle storage for future residents.

A new landscaped communal garden will also be created in the heart of the estate, removing the unwelcoming podium that has structural issues.

Bunhill Councillors Claudia Webbe, Troy Gallagher and Robert Khan have campaigned hard for improvements to the Triangle Estate for the best part of a decade.  

Cllr Claudia Webbe, Executive Member for Environment and Transport and Bunhill Ward councillor, said: “My Ward colleagues and I are delighted that, after years of campaigning and working closely with both council tenants and leaseholders, we are on the way to improving the Triangle Estate in a way that puts local people first.

“It was argued by some that it was impossible and too costly to find a solution to the crime and anti-social behaviour issues on the estate, but as councillors we were persistent. By working together with the Council, the Triangle Estate tenant and resident association (TRA), the local police and others, we finally agreed a design that would improve the overall look of the estate and make it safer for local residents.”

Suad Ayanle, a resident of the Triangle Estate, added: “Anti-social behaviour has been a problem affecting the residents of the estate for years, so I am relieved that there are now plans in place to reduce it and design out crime. The creation of a new public green space and removal of the unsightly podium will make it a much nicer place for everyone living here. It is great to know that more genuinely affordable housing will be built on the estate, which will really help local people.”

Caption: (L-R) Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development; Cllr Claudia Webbe, Executive Member for Environment and Transport, Bunhill Ward councillor; Cllr Troy Gallagher, Bunhill Ward councillor; Suad Ayanle and Lee Smith, Compton Street side residents.