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Residents restore mural after graffiti damage

LDRS Very colourful murals with graffiti covering much of it along a wall of a bridgeLDRS
The murals by Carbuncle Passage just before Tottenham Marshes Bridge, were damaged by graffiti

Residents in north London have helped restore a series of art murals after they were damaged by graffiti.

Volunteers from the Friends of Hartington Park and Carbuncle Passage group came together over the summer to clean and repaint them.

The murals in Tottenham, were created in 2021 using a combination of community and Haringey Council funding.

Carbuncle Passage is a known hotspot for anti-social behaviour, including fly-tipping and vandalism, and sits between the Tottenham Hale and Northumberland Park areas.

LDRS Residents taking off paint - a woman in the foreground on her knees scrubbing at a wall with two stepladders near the mural which says meet me.LDRS
Residents came together to remove the damage over the summer

In 2021, around 100 residents took part in a women’s safety walk calling for new lighting, CCTV, and improved general maintenance of the area.

A redeployable CCTV camera, which provides temporary surveillance, was used in Tottenham Hale to record anti-social behaviour, and Carbuncle Passage was one of the areas captured.

Vincent Neff, a member of the friends group, said the idea for more dedicated CCTV had been "floated" but acknowledged the council’s efforts to tackle the area’s problems.

Mr Neff said: "The intention behind the art mural was to make the passage safe, more accessible, and an engaging route for pedestrians and cyclists in response to the anti-social behaviour.

"Residents gathered over three or four weekends in August and early September to clean and repaint the mural following a build up of graffiti.

He added: "I was surprised the mural lasted that long untouched. Our main aim is to help open up this hidden backstreet, where people haven’t felt safe to walk along, through the use of colourful artwork."

Tottenham Hale ward councillor Sean O’Donovan added: "I was not surprised that the local residents reacted so quickly to the graffiti on the mural.

"I was pleased to play a small part in the repainting but the main work was done by the residents."

The friends group, which uses social media to organise, aims to paint more walls along the passage and have encouraged volunteers to get involved.

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