IT is a green enclave of north London that has become synonymous with wealth and excess thanks to the antics of Kate Moss, Jude Law and Liam Gallagher.
But today, fed-up residents say you’re more likely to bump into a hoodie-wearing thug than an A-list celebrity in Primrose Hill, which has become a “neanderthal camp”.
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Harry Pitman who was fatally stabbed in North West London on New Year’s EveCredit: PA
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Police officers carry out a fingertip search on Primrose Hill in Camden. Credits: PA
After the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old schoolboy Harry Pitman on New Year’s Eve, locals told The Sun they had been warning of an increase in violence and anti-social behavior for three years.
Eleanor Sturdy chairs the Primrose Hill crime panel and says the area’s historic park can resemble a music festival for days as young people take drugs and have sex in public.
She said: “It started during the pandemic when people realized it was an open space that was difficult to secure.
“If someone has fireworks, they can set them off in the park and by the time you call the police, they’re gone.
“My husband and I live in an apartment next to the park and we are regularly woken up at 1 in the morning by people playing music and setting off fireworks.
“In 2020, I was attacked by one of two men using a huge speaker outside my window in the early hours of the morning.
“I opened the window and said, ‘Would you like to turn that music off?’ I expected an apology, but they said: ‘Go down and say it’.
“I went down and started filming them with my phone, which was a mistake.
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Eleanor Sturdy tells us that young people are taking drugs in the park and having sex in public Credit: Darren Fletcher
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There were 1,364 reported crimes in the Primrose Hill area in the 12 months to November 2023 Credit: Darren Fletcher
“One of them grabbed my phone and threw it across the road. He said some very rude things and then grabbed me under my pajamas.
“A very brave policewoman caught up with the man – who turned out to be 27 and employed – and rugby tackled him to the ground.
“After he was arrested, I was worried for months about the case and the need to testify.
“But when we finally went to court a year later, it turned out that the police and CPS didn’t charge him in time and they had to let him go.
“The Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is our MP, personally apologized to me afterwards. He was disgusted.
Now that someone has been killed, it is a tragic confirmation for those of us who have been worried about the situation for years – and warned that something terrible would happen.
Eleanor Sturdy
“It was during the first days of the pandemic when the park became like a music festival without security.
“People were dealing drugs and having sex in the bushes and urinating and pooping in them.
“They started vandalizing local businesses and breaking their windows. They even broke into a wine shop and a bookstore, although they didn’t steal a single book.”
Royal Parks, which oversees the 60-hectare site, has now applied for permission to install a permanent gate so it can be closed at night.
Eleanor says that those who are in favor of moving, like her, are accused of being “posh” and inconspicuous, although she is at pains to point out that she doesn’t own a garden or live in a huge house.
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Regent’s Park where Harry Pitman was killed a few hours before midnight Credit: Darren Fletcher
Crime rates in Primrose Hill
ACCORDING to data from the Metropolitan Police, 1,364 crimes were reported in Primrose Hill between November 2022 and 2023.
June was the month with the highest number of reported criminal offenses last year, a total of 136.
This came down to 26 listed as ‘other thefts’; 24 vehicle offenses; 21 violence and sexual offenses; and 65 in the category ‘all other crimes’.
The latest MET data are from November last year, when 114 criminal offenses were committed.
They included 26 reports of antisocial behavior; 22 acts of violence and sexual offenses; 15 vehicle offenses; and 51 listed as ‘all other crimes’.
Primrose Hill belongs to Camden Borough, which saw 35,658 crimes last year – an estimated 132 crimes per 1,000 people.
It is the second most dangerous borough in London and has a crime rate 60 percent higher than the national average, according to CrimeRate.
They found that the most common types of recorded crimes were anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences, and theft.
Neighborhood group Primrose Hill Watch estimated 20,000 people gathered at the top of the park to enjoy a panoramic view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks that exploded above the London Eye.
It was said that around 54 police officers were on duty, and a security team was hired to check the celebrant’s weapons.
Two teenagers, meanwhile, have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal stabbing of innocent football fan Harry, whose heartbroken family live in Tottenham.
Eleanor added: “Now someone has been killed, it’s a tragic vindication for those of us who have been worried about the situation for years – and warned that something terrible was about to happen.
“We have been reporting serious crimes for three years now, and they pat us on the head and say ‘Don’t worry’.”
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Police speak to a man in Primrose Hill, near Chalk Farm tube station Credit: Darren Fletcher
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Primrose Hill was once famous for celebrities including Liam Gallagher Credit: PupAid
‘Hand cut off’
Property prices have remained resilient in the area despite the so-called ‘primrose Hill crowd’ – which included actor Law and his then-wife Sadie Frost – thriving and their reputation tarnished by recent violence.
Locals claim that in December 2022, a robber with a machete cut off the hand of a German tourist while trying to steal his phone, and there were also numerous incidents of flashing and antisocial behavior.
Wealthy celebrities have moved into gated estates offering greater security in nearby Highgate and Hampstead, we’re told.
Jenny McCririck, the widow of the late Channel Four racing pundit John McCririck, is one notable resident who remains on the site.
But she added: “I don’t like going there after dark now because you never know who’s lurking around the corner.”
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Ryan Murray, 50, blames Sadiq Khan for rise in knife crime Credit: Darren Fletcher
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Janet Jones, 60, says the isolation was when Primrose HIll started to become “more dangerous” Credit: Darren Fletcher
Park ‘like a night club’
Company director Ryan Murray, 50, blames London Mayor Sadiq Khan for the knife crime epidemic that has spread to Primrose Hill.
Harry was the 21st teenager to die violently in London last year, 18 of them stabbed.
Ryan said: “There is no way Khan is going to get my vote. His disdain for the police is well documented and he is more interested in being woken up than doing what is best for London.”
The American writer Janet Jones (60) compares what is happening now with the riots in LA in 1992, which happened after the police arrested and beat Rodney King.
She said: “I’ve lived here for 12 years and word got out during the closure that this was a party place.
“It became like a nightclub up on the hill. It was dramatically different from the park we knew before and it was dangerous to walk here because of all the broken glass and trash.
“They vandalized shops and graffitied everything, including this William Blake poem carved here in the concrete.
“Different factions were coming into the park and it was more depressing because it became like a Neanderthal camp.
“I don’t want permanent gates on the park because this has always been a special place and I want it to stay that way.
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Primrose Hill where Harry Pitman was killed Credit: Darren Fletcher
“But more attention should be paid to violence among young people. I was in LA when the riots happened and this reminds me of Rodney King asking, ‘Why can’t we all just get along?'”
In a joint statement from the Royal Parks and the Metropolitan Police, The Sun was told there was currently an “increased police presence” and extra patrols in and around the park following Harry’s death.
They added: “Following the tragic stabbing incident at Primrose Hill on New Year’s Eve, we want to reassure the local community and park visitors that the safety of everyone visiting the park is paramount.”
We’re told there is no police intelligence to suggest a “repeat of what happened is likely” and that “significant arrests” have been made.
They added: “We take the concerns of residents extremely seriously. The safety of everyone visiting the park is paramount.”
In response to concerns over crime concerns in the area, the Sun was told residents’ views were being taken “extremely seriously” and the local community had been canvassed for their views.
In October, Royal Parks applied for permission to install permanent gates at park entrances. They are awaiting a decision from Camden council.
Anyone with information about Harry Pitman’s murder is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8785 8099. They can also share information online here or speak to local police officers. To remain anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education