Brentford Towers Residents Association (BTRA) is on a mission to give residents a voice and transform the area for the better.

Realising the power of a collective voice, the association has set about making changes for residents of the Brentford Towers and wider community since its inception in 2017.

The association was set up following the Grenfell disaster, as Brentford Towers were themselves in the process of having cladding put on later in the year.

Hounslow Council held an emergency meeting for everyone from the blocks, which turned heated, and led to the decision that the cladding would not go ahead.

The meeting also resulted in the introduction of Yvette and Lailaa, current Secretary and Chair for BTRA.

Secretary Yvette said: "I heard this loud voice in the background, and she also had all this paper work, and was ready to argue!"

Yvette, who's lived on the estate for 32 years and had already thought about setting up a resident's association, approached Lailaa for help.

Lailaa, current Chair of BTRA, took a bit of convincing, but said: "She was right to approach me at that point because we were really engrossed in it all and fired up.

"And it touched on something really deep within me, that actually, this is something you should be involved in."

Both women work full-time, Yvette as a psychotherapist and Lailaa as a contracts manager.

Lailaa, Brentford Towers resident of 24 years, said: "We do this because, at the end of the day, it's your home and where you live.

"And you always think someone else is going to do it, but you've got to do it, you've got to take up the charge."

So, the association was set-up in record speed, ready to create a louder voice for the residents of the six Brentford Tower blocks.

Lailaa, also a trained paralegal, added: "We suddenly realised that a lot of things could be done to improve the quality of resident's lives, obviously securing better fittings, furnishings and upgrades and upkeep, but also for the community as a whole.

"The landscaping, everything - street lighting, street furniture."

First up was getting a pavement on the side of the road, something they didn't have, resulting in unsightly mud paths as cars apparently drove on grass mounds while people had to walk alongside.

"We got the footpath done, because we just thought, why don't we have one?"

Then was new lighting for the car park, which had previously broken, and new flooring for the communal areas of the towers, to replace the previous one that, "smelt like wet dog".

They also got the names of each house engraved in gold marble as you enter the building, to highlight the building's historic links to the London Museum of Water and Steam.

Lailla said: "I told Yvette, you're pushing it now! But the council turned around and said they could do it."

The positive relationship between the resident's association and the council over the last four years has allowed resident's issues to be heard and acted upon.

Most recently was the Cruyff Court success story, which officially opening in July.

Previously "the pits", a site of gravel concreted ground with a basketball net and graffiti covered walls, the area was transformed into a fresh court for the community, now sometimes used by Brentford football ground for events.

Future-plans include new outdoor seating, entering the estate into London In Bloom following the planting of wildflowers around the area, and a big Halloween party for children on the estate next year.

The ambitious and determined work of the association so far leaves no doubt that these can be achieved.