Rubi Redner
It’s one of the most famous shopping thoroughfares in the country, housing top retailers and including the historic flagship branch of high end furniture store Heal’s.
But Tottenham Court Road in London has lately been transformed into a virtual shanty town as long lines of tents have sprung up housing homeless migrants.
Shocking footage taken by the Daily Mail shows a ramshackle ‘village’ of tents clustered along the central London street close to the University College Hospital complex which was recently subject to a prestigious rebuild costing over £200million.
In scenes more reminiscent of the infamous ‘Jungle’ in Calais than London, a long line of tents had been erected, often on wooden pallets to keep rain water out, over two large plots of private land.
The inhabitants were a mix of migrants from around the world, particularly the Middle East, as well as Romania and Bulgaria augmented by a handful of homeless Britons.
Most were men, with a small number of women – with many among their number understood to beg for spare change at pitches along the famous street.
Some more elaborate plots even had gazebos, tables, chairs and cooking equipment – while stacks of uneaten food showing packaging from Costa and Greggs were piled up nearby.
Another tent set up in the middle of the busy street even had a Deliveroo branded delivery bike parked outside – with its migrant resident apparently working dropping off takeaway meals before sleeping rough here.
Some local residents and business owners complained that some migrants openly smoke drugs and target shoppers to steal from – though this is unconfirmed.
Some tent residents grew angry when asked about their stay in the area around Warren Street tube station – the site of failed bomb attack by an Islamic terror gang in July 2005.
One, apparently English, refused to say how long his tents would be staying or how he got there, snapping: ‘That’s not for me to say…’
Another group of Arabic men laughed when asked about the encampment before claiming they could not speak English.
One resident however was happy to share his story with the Daily Mail.
Colombian national Cesar Rodriguez, 49, said living in a tent here became a necessity after losing his cash-in-hand job as a cleaner.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I love Britain and the English culture. The people are great. This is why I chose to come here 25 years ago.
‘My father was killed by criminals in Colombia at 45 and it was no longer safe for me.
‘I have been welcomed in with open arms. I have worked the whole time I’ve been here, until last year when I lost my job.
‘I’ve been on the streets ever since. Tomorrow is my birthday. But I refuse to be unhappy.’
Cesar, who used to live in Crouch Hill, north London, says living at the site is ‘miserable’ but he chose the option of ‘safety in numbers’.
Previous attempts to live in a tent alone saw him moved on by businesses and the authorities.
Cesar added: ‘The Government needs to be more fair in who gets to stay – they are still working on my status and it means I cannot work [legally].
‘But they are doing so much for foreigners who don’t care about this great country. The new foreigners coming here are taking the p***.
‘English people can’t even get accommodation. There are just too many foreign people. Some of them have had to resort to living here.
‘It’s not safe here, especially at night. But what can you do. There’s times where I’ve had to call the police because of robberies that I’ve seen.
‘This is currently my only option. My brother was killed back home last year. I have nowhere else to go.
‘I speak four languages and have a record of working for years. All I want is the chance to get my life back on track.’
When the Daily Mail visited the area earlier in the month we witnessed council workers at the scene wearing hi-vis jackets and taking photos but making no attempt to move any of the individuals on.
A mixed group of migrants sat outside a local McDonald’s begging before returning to the tents later in the day.
Back at the campsite, a large orange commercial bin was seen full of suitcases, discarded clothes and pizza boxes.
Pauline Fox, 58, who travels from north London to work in a nearby department store, said she felt unsafe when walking past the tents.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘We have no idea who is staying in these tents. There’s basic checks on accommodation in this country, but not here.
‘I’ve been stared at walking past here and it makes me feel uncomfortable, especially now the evenings are getting darker.
‘It needs to be removed. There needs to be some kind of order.’
James Walsh, 52, who lives nearby said: ‘It’s been this way for weeks now and it seems each day there’s more tents cropping up.
‘While it’s not nice to look at there’s a story behind every one of those tents.
‘There’s a mix of people from all over the world there and quite a few English. Some of them even go to work and then come back to sleep later.’
He added: ‘At least the council have provided them a bin to chuck all their rubbish away.
One homeowner, 41, who lives in nearby Camden, said: ‘This is a shanty town, a reflection of modern Britain and the state it’s in.’
Recent figures showed that rough sleeping in the capital has risen by 26 per cent, as the cost of living continues to surge.
A Camden Council spokesman said: ‘This is not a situation that can continue – we are concerned for the welfare of people sleeping rough here and we take residents’ concerns very seriously.
‘Our urgent focus is on working with partners, including the landowners, to prioritise helping people rough sleeping here rebuild their lives away from the streets.
‘This means finding suitable accommodation and providing the range of support they need, while making sure the area is safe, secure and maintained for everyone.’
The Mayor’s Office and Deliveroo were contacted for comment.
It comes after ‘illegal tents’ are set to be removed from Park Lane in central London after Transport for London (TfL) was granted a possession order to remove them.
The encampment opposite the Hilton Hotel near Hyde Park Corner features about 12 tents.
The court-issued possession order follows a separate order last October which saw about 40 people cleared from the area.
Councillors at Westminster City called for the tents to be ‘removed as a priority’ and said a lasting solution was needed otherwise they could return.
TfL said it had been working closely with the council and other partners over many months to try to resolve the issue ‘compassionately and safely’.
A tent ‘town’ also appeared on the holiday island of Ibiza last year amid rising costs of accommodation.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk | Read the Full Story…
