Mayor admits latest weapon in £2m battle is ‘a bit off the wall’

Mayor Harriet Garland with Laura Carron and Hayley Perry

COLD and blustery winds swept across the crazy golf course – it could have been a day plucked from any British pleasure beach holiday.
But the big tee-off on Friday was not in Blackpool or Skegness, it was on a sprawling Camden Town council estate, once dogged by swarms of class A drug addicts.
In a national first, Camden Council has opened a mini-golf course on the Clarence Way estate as part of a £2 million project to make the area safe for long-suffering residents.
Young golfers leapt at the chance to putt their way round the brightly-coloured nine-hole course. Mayor of Camden Councillor Harriet Garland was on hand to make sure the opening ceremony went with a swing. She said: “A crazy golf course on an inner London estate might sound a bit off the wall, but I am proud to join the tenants and residents in opening what is an original and practical idea that will provide activities for all the family.
“The course is weather resistant, which makes it a good practical addition to the estate. It should be cheap to maintain.
“I hope the golf course will provide entertainment for everyone, now and in the future.”
Other features of the project include security fences and new lighting.
Some critics have warned that crazy golf will fail to clear away the estate’s long-standing drug problem.
They include The Sun columnist Richard Littlejohn, who savaged the scheme in his newspaper column.
But housing chief Labour councillor Raj Chada said: “One of the council’s top priorities is to improve the look and use of public spaces and areas and make the borough a safer place.
“The crazy golf course is part of a much bigger initiative to improve the environment and play facilities on the estate, helping to reduce crime and bring back ‘dead space’ into use.”
Silla Carron, chairwoman of the estate’s tenants’ and residents’ association, added: “This is something really different, some of the kids on this estate have never seen the sea and might not get the chance.
“The crazy golf course will bring them a taste of a seaside resort.
“And the best thing is that it’s ageless. Grandad can play with his grandson or kids can play together.
“I want to thank Camden Council and especially the Gospel Oak district housing office for listening to what we wanted, for their work to regenerate the whole estate and their support.”
Ms Carron had asked Mr Littlejohn to attend the launch.
She said: “He was invited but he has ignored us – so we don’t want to see him around here.”