Proper lighting in Downhills Park

Community organisation ACORN petition for better lighting in dimly lit park
By Victoria Chase

ACORN members
Credit: ACORN London

Community group ACORN has launched its newest branch in Tottenham, run entirely by local people.

Its members are campaigning to get Haringey Council to install proper lighting in Downhills Park – something local residents have been requesting for years.

Opened in 1903, Downhills Park provides a wealth of community activities, sports facilities, and a friendly café. However, residents can only fully utilise the park for half the year.

Once the nights start drawing in, the sparse lighting on the pathways means residents don’t feel safe.

Proper lighting throughout the park would give residents a wider window to make the most of their community space all year, making it more accommodating and accessible. Additionally, peoples’ travel time would be reduced by being able to cross through the park instead of walking around it because they feel unsafe.

Suitable lighting would also help reduce the number of dangerous incidents and opportunities for criminal activity.

ACORN is a community organisation that campaigns on local issues across the country, and we’ve heard first-hand from local residents about how the lack of proper lighting affects them.

Park View School is next to Downhills Park; many residents pick their children up from the school’s side gate, leading directly into the park. In winter, this means waiting in darkness and walking their children home through an unlit park. Parents have shared their concerns about feeling unsafe when having to walk through the dark, which can be as early as 4pm in winter.

People using the park for exercise have also told ACORN that they feel they are at risk of accidents, such as tripping over the park’s many potholes as a result of the lack of suitable lighting.

Residents of Tottenham shouldn’t feel unsafe or unwelcome in their parks. Installing sufficient lighting in Downhills Park is a simple, easy way for Haringey Council to improve the lives of residents and attract people from all over the borough to the beautiful green spaces Tottenham has to offer.

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