Inside the 'tent village' in heart of London which dozens of rough sleepers are calling home

Evening Standard

This is the tent village where dozens of rough sleepers in London are calling home. Opposite Warren Street Station in Camden, around 20 tents are currently pitched.Many are elevated on wooden panels to stay dry. Some contain only sleeping bags and a few items of clothing while others have furniture, mattresses and cooking equipment.

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00:00London's status as one of the world's wealthiest capitals stands in stark contrast to the tent

00:05encampments that have emerged across its centre. These serve as a visible reminder of the capital's

00:11spiralling homelessness crisis. Around 20 tents are currently pitched opposite Warren Street

00:16Station in Camden, and further sites have been identified near the south-east corner of Hyde Park.

00:22Migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, alongside British nationals, are among those living in

00:27the makeshift shelters. According to recent figures, 4,667 people were recorded sleeping

00:34rough in England on a single night last autumn. This is a 20% increase on 2023, and nearly half of

00:41them were in London and the south-east. Homelessness is getting worse, driven by rising rents, a severe

00:47lack of affordable and social housing, job insecurity, and overstretched public services.

00:53The standard understands that Westminster City Council has been managing small numbers of

00:58encampments since Covid. While the overall number of camps does not appear to be increasing,

01:03it remains consistent with new rough sleepers arriving on the streets each day.

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