• AT Camden Town Unlimited we are delighted by the recent spate of arrests for drug-related activity in Camden Town and congratulate the police and council for their sterling work.

The next stage of the process needs to include continued presence and enforcement in the town centre to ensure these important gains are built upon and that we do not cede the ground back to those unwanted elements.

On behalf of the business community, we will continue to fund both police officers (along with LabTech) and security wardens in order to provide visible deterrents.

In an age of drastic public sector cuts, the business community is having to fill gaps that would previously have been filled by normal taxation. In a time of huge increases in business rates and the late-night levy, we do so reluctantly but accept the situation.

What we need now is a genuine, joined-up, approach to enforcement (including pavement encroachment and planning enforcement of things like light-permitting high street shutters) in order to ensure that these gains are reinforced and that we can return Camden Town to a cleaner state.

For when most people hear the name Camden they think of Camden Town. Its condition determines how the borough is seen by the world.

SIMON PITKEATHLEY
Chief Executive
Camden Town Unlimited