Fences erected around the area previously used by people experiencing homelessness

ROUGH sleepers who had been staying in tents outside council offices in King’s Cross have been removed to make way for new bike stands and plant pots ­­– in a move which ­campaigners fear is another incident of ­hostile architecture displacing people.

The hard-line treatment by the Town Hall came a few months after University College London Hospital filed a planning application for new street furniture specifically designed to stop tents from being pitched.

The destruction of people’s shelters in this spot in November sparked huge national media attention after the New Journal’s reporting. Camden already had a reputation for “hostility” after introducing a bench too uncomfortable to sleep, or even sit on for long periods on.

The council had pledged not to join further evictions after the incident at UCLH, but campaigners were horrified when around eight ­people without homes who were sleeping outside Camden’s 5PS building were moved on Friday.

The building is due to be used as the election count centre in Sir Keir Starmer’s constituency next month. Bike stands and plant pots were swiftly placed in the spaces where people had been sleeping.

Elodie Berland from Streets Kitchen said the eight people were staying there “to get support and attention from the council for their applications”.

She added it was a “safe, shielded spot that is near the library where you can charge your phone and use the computer”.

Tents outside 5PS 

For the past few weeks, community protection officers (CPOs) had told the rough sleepers that they would need to move on because building works were planned for the area.

Streets Kitchen were in talks with Routes Off The Streets and the officers, and Ms Berland said she asked when they would have to move by but was never told a date. On Friday she walked past the site and saw two police officers arresting one of the men “for threatening one of the security guards”.

The tents were then moved away from the building and into the ­middle of the pavement. Some of the belongings inside were stored by the council. Workmen then started moving bike stands and large plant pots in.

A spokesperson for Streets Kitchen said: “What a terrible and obscene message to send to those experiencing homelessness in Camden. They would rather use expensive medieval fortifications to prevent rough sleeping than address the real issues they face. “Although we are delighted that everyone affected was finally offered a week’s temporary accommodation, it shouldn’t always take us getting so publicly vocal with our many allies to achieve this. There are simple solutions that don’t include criminalisation or negative attitudes.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have been providing dedicated support to the group of people who have sleeping outside 5 Pancras Square since February. This has included offers of accommodation. As part of this process, since Friday, we offered everyone accommodation again and all accepted and moved into hotels with our help.

“Everyone will receive an offer of accommodation, but due to the extreme housing pressures in our borough we have been transparent that this is unlikely to be in an offer of accommodation in Camden – but everyone will receive an offer of support and long-term secure housing.

“We have allocated every person a case worker to make sure they have access to the full range of services provided by the Council and other community and specialist organisations.”

The new planters

Meanwhile, UCLH’s plans for Huntley Street include 30 bike stands and eight bollards at the spot where people experiencing homelessness had put down tents near the warmth of the hospital’s air conditioning unit last year.

A letter from UCLH applying for planning permission said: “Due to the size and spacing of the cycle parking stands, these have proved attractive to rough sleepers. “This has meant that UCLH has faced on-going problems with rough sleepers using the stands and meant that this has compromised security (bikes being damaged or stolen) and is preventing the use of the 28 spaces for bicycles by staff and visitors.” A

Streets Kitchen spokesperson said: “Just because an individual is experiencing homelessness, that does not mean that they are damaging and stealing bikes. What’s the evidence that those sleeping at the site damaged or stole all the bikes?”

The nearby American Church in Tottenham Court Road operates a soup kitchen that feeds 200 people six days a week as well as a winter shelter.

Jennifer Mills-Knutse, a senior pastor at the church, told the New Journal: “It is not a crime to have no place to live, but having no place to live also does not grant license to engage in street harassment or other inappropriate behaviour. “It’s also not a solution for the police to move people on to another location. We need increased resources at a national level to address this epidemic of homelessness.”

Tents and belongings in King’s Cross

Jo Hurford lives opposite the site in Huntley Street. She said: “I think it’s very unfair to put up hostile architecture because where are homeless people supposed to go? In the winter it’s warmer for them at the Huntley Street side of UCLH than anywhere else because of the vent that lets out onto the street.”

A UCLH spokesperson said: “Staff and visitors to the Grafton Way Building are unable to use existing bike racks because they are being obstructed by tents. We are currently not meeting the cycle parking requirements set out in the original planning permission for the building. We are therefore seeking permission to redesign the area. “We continue to work with our partners to support rough sleepers outside our hospitals.”