Hello,
Firstly, apologies in advance for a rather sombre post !
I'm a local mother, whose child suffered a horrible accident last week along Northcote Road and whilst I have raised my concerns with a local councillor (and got a prompt reply to assure me they were investigating the issue) I'd really like to bring this to people's attention and advise everyone to take extra caution along this stretch of Northcote Rd. My email to the council is below and summarises where / what happened. We were incredibly lucky and my child appears to be - quite miraculously - relatively unscathed, my fear is that others may not be so fortunate so please read and take good care :
"I'm contacting you with regard to a major concern over an area of Northcote Road where my 5 year old child had an horrific accident last Friday, upon walking past the area today there appears to have been nothing done to remedy the situation. I will summarise what happened, and hopefully we can find some way to take this forward.
My child is in reception at a local school, and as her year exited a coach after a school trip last week they were lined up near some railings toward the end of Northcote Road, behind where the 319 / G1 bus would stop if it were headed toward Streatham from Clapham Junction. There is a row of houses / flats here, with the railings in front of basement flats.
My child leant back, and instead of a railing (but looking very much like a railing) there was an unlocked gate down to nowhere - no steps, just a sheer drop of practically an entire storey down onto a concrete floor. As I watched, unable to reach, my child fell backwards / headfirst downwards into the basement and was laying on the concrete with only stinging nettles breaking her fall. How on earth she's escaped with her life, and/or no broken bones is beyond me, beyond any of the horrified bystanders who witnessed this, and most of the medical professionals I've spoken with subsequently.
Upon walking past the scene of the accident today I noted with disgust that the gate was swinging open, with the ridiculously perilous drop still looming. This is not only incredibly unsafe, and frankly a potential death trap for any small children walking past (it's Northcote Rd, very close to schools and nurseries - there are many children jostling for room on the pavement), but also the elderly and any passing pedestrians are at risk.
I would urge you to take very swift action before someone else seriously injures themselves, or worse. As well as the devastating effect this would have on any family, it's a potential court case for your council should, god forbid, someone not be so lucky as my child was in this instance".
I'm tempted to go along with a padlock and lock it myself if I see it open again ! To reiterate, there are no steps down from this gate - just a drop. It's utter madness that it should remain open.
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