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In this video, we’re taking a tour around one of the highest crime and most deprived areas in Swindon, and that’s Penhill.
Most of the properties are council owned and were built in the 50s so they’re looking pretty dated and rundown at this point.
Penhill is best- known for the three huge tower blocks on the estate, they date back to the 60s.
As you’ll see in the video, most of the front gardens and public paths are unkempt, there is litter and large items dumped all over the estate, people park everywhere and anywhere, and there are burnt-out houses.
Looking at the crime stats, there’s a lot of criminal activity for an area that’s barely a square mile.
There are between 50 and 100 crimes reported in any given month, and most of those are violent offenses and anti-social behavior from the residents.
Criminal damage, theft, and shoplifting aren’t far behind, so it’s safe to say nothing is safe in Penhill.
The headlines coming out of Penhill don’t exactly sell the area as somewhere you’ll want to visit.
Stabbings, assaults, and robberies are fairly common, but something that puts Penhill a notch above other problem estates in Swindon is gun crime.
I read numerous reports of shootings and police raids finding firearms, which raises the seriousness of the crime problem in Penhill.
Oh, and how about this for a headline, ‘ delightful little children’ torching a couple‘s car as they enjoyed the nature reserve.
The tower blocks are notorious on the estate for all the wrong reasons, and obviously, they’re hard to miss.
Each block is 11 stories high and has 41 flats inside, which means they’re housing hundreds of people.
If you’ve never lived in close proximity with that many people, you have no idea how miserable it can be.
It’s not all happy families and a tight little community that looks out for one another.
From having to listen to someone else’s late-night rave music, to smelling what’s cooking (or being smoked) in the flat next to you, and stepping over unspeakable things in the stairwells, yeah.
Anyhow, if you’re interested in the house prices in Penhil, Rightmove says that the average price over the last year was £290,000 - which is pretty shocking as it’s above Swindon’s average of £272,000.
I’m sure I could name some other areas where your £290k would be better spent, and you’d sleep easier at night for sure.
Here’s a look at the local shop serving the towerblocks, I have no idea who owns it as it has no banner but we popped in for some water and the woman who served us there was nice.
On the plus side, Penhill has all of the amenities you’d expect on an estate serving the residents.
Like a chippy, that serves ‘ absolute banging chips, a post office that has some ropey reviews, a pub, a community center, and so on.
What do you think should be done to clean up areas like this? Maybe you live in Penhill or somewhere similar, we'd love to hear from you!
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