Fury as landlord Guinness rips children’s bikes off railings on Northwold Estate

A resident’s photograph showing some of the items removed from the hallways on the estate and deposited on the pavement, where they were left unsupervised and vulnerable to thieves

Children’s bicycles were wrenched off railings on a Hackney estate and unceremoniously dumped in a pile at the foot of a flight of stairs.

The morning blitz was carried out by contractors working for social landlord The Guinness Partnership.

People’s valuable bikes and other personal items were left unattended and vulnerable to thieves following the bizarre operation, which has left residents furious.

The Guinness Partnership swiftly apologised for not informing some residents in advance about the action, after being contacted by the Hackney Citizen, and said the bikes had been blocking escape routes which needed to be kept free at all times in case of a blaze.

Full size bicycles and children’s bikes can be seen dumped on a pavement area in images provided to the Hackney Citizen.

Northwold Estate residents who were awoken by the sound of angle grinder machines tearing through D-locks branded the failure to warn people in advance discourteous at best and at worst a heavy-handed show of contempt for people’s private property.

Some cycles were apparently damaged and others are still unaccounted for – though Guinness has pledged all will be made available for collection next Wednesday.

Lia Phillips, a tenant on the estate, which is located in Clapton, said: “I just happened to be home and I heard the noise, but if I hadn’t, my bike could have been taken.

“I went outside and one of the contractors was just about to cut through my D-lock. There was a man and a woman. I spoke to the woman mostly. She said they were from Guinness. I said, what are you doing you doing, you’re actually stealing someone’s mode of transport? She just said: ‘Nothing is allowed to be left out in the hallways.’”

Lia Phillips managed to save her bike

Police were called, arrived after 15 minutes and checked the lock breakers’ IDs, before leaving.

Edward Walls, a leaseholder, said the only place to park bicycles on the estate was in a sole bike hanger provided by Hackney Council, which only has space for around a dozen bikes.

He said: “Some of these were children’s bikes – that’s what I think is most shocking.”

And he said the lack of notice about the action showed the social landlord had “contempt” for the estate’s residents.

Emily Jost, who also lives on the Northwold Estate, said: “There was no notice given, and if people are expected not to keep their bikes attached to the railings, they [Guinness] should provide somewhere for bikes.”

Residents also speculated about the cost of the operation to remove the bikes and questioned whether the money might not better have been spent providing some covered bike racks on site.

Half of the Northwold Estate, a large and well built 1930s housing project, is currently earmarked for potential demolition under a controversial scheme which critics warn could cause 10 years of disruption and lead to “densification” of the land for profit.

Green Party politician Sian Berry (centre) visited the estate last night to meet with residents concerned about redevelopment plans. She also expressed surprise about the lack of warning of the action taken against the bikes

Development consultant Newman Francis, which is working on the redevelopment plans, has said it is about “providing affordable homes in London by creatively building better homes”.

Asked to comment on the removal of the bicycles, a Guinness spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that bikes were removed without some customers being informed in advance that this was to take place. We have written to affected customers to apologise and will make sure such an error does not happen again.

“The bikes will be available at Northwold next Wednesday between 1pm and 2pm for owners to collect them, or if this is not convenient owners can contact us so we can make other arrangements.

“The bikes had to be removed because they were a safety risk blocking escape routes in the case of fire or other emergency.

“There are some local authority bike storage facilities on site. Signs had been in place since June, but we accept that we should have communicated with our customers better.”