Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Housing

Homeless saved from 'certain death' during Beast from the East face eviction

Susan Sarandon-backed eviction battle fails as another cold snap looms

homelessness and rough sleeping

More than 160 rough sleepers who sheltered from February’s snow and freezing temperatures in a derelict building in London are now facing eviction because the building’s management is developing the four-storey space into 32 luxury apartments.

The Great Portland Street building, known as the Sofia Solidarity Centre, became one of London’s largest homeless shelters after the Beast from the East battered the UK last month and was set up by grassroots group Streets Kitchen.

Actress Susan Sarandon called for London mayor Sadiq Khan to step in after the rough sleepers were ordered to vacate the temporary homeless shelter.

Supporters rallied being the group with a 3,000-plus-strong petition and a social media campaign to convince Khan to intervene.

Even Sarandon, who paid tribute to Hollywood icon and amateur inventor Hedy Lamarr in The Big Issue earlier this month, took to Twitter to add her support, saying: “I visited last week and saw the people whose lives they are saving first hand. They need your support right now, not an eviction notice.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Despite the calls, a full possession order was awarded to the building owner W1 Developments, which is planning to turn it into 32 luxury apartments, at London County Court on March 14. The order means that residents can be evicted at any time and sent back to the streets just as temperatures are forecasted to drop in London once again – the Met Office has issued amber warnings for snow and ice in the English capital over the weekend.

John Glackin, Streets Kitchen founder, said: “We are feeling very, very disappointed and a feeling of anger that we are looking at putting 160 people back on to the streets – especially with the cold weather returning. It’s traumatic.

“We can be evicted at any time and I’m not sure there are enough beds in Westminster for people to have somewhere to go. There is no doubt in my mind that we have saved certain death on the streets of London.”

The row has ignited the debate on how empty buildings are treated in the UK – The Big Issue launched the Fill ‘Em Up campaign in 2015 to highlight how dilapidated and derelict buildings can be brought back into use to help dismantle poverty.

London mayor Khan said: “Rough sleeping has doubled under this government and still ministers are failing to invest or take proper measures to tackle the root causes of homelessness. It’s shocking that some people sleeping rough feel they have no other option than to sleep in a derelict building – ministers have simply got to do more to invest in services that provide a warm bed and a proper route off the streets for good.

“My team have spoken to Westminster Council and made sure help is at hand, and we have made a direct offer of my “No Second Night Out” service as an extra protection for those rough sleepers when they are moved on from Great Portland Street.

“I am funding services across London with record levels of investment and using the powers I have at City Hall to their fullest extent, but I can’t tackle this crisis alone. The government must step up and played its part in helping people rough sleeping, wherever they are from.”

Watch the Pride special collection.

Our LGBTQ+ film playlist offers a new and interesting angle on LGBTQ+ love and struggle – giving an international overview by taking us inside some of the most and least sexually liberated countries in the world.  

Sign Up Now
Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Cost of building homes higher than house prices in one in five areas after 'years of inflation'
Stock image of British houses
Housing

Cost of building homes higher than house prices in one in five areas after 'years of inflation'

Homelessness facts and statistics: The numbers you need to know in 2024
Homelessness

Homelessness facts and statistics: The numbers you need to know in 2024

Homelessness soars in England due to sky-high rents and asylum backlog crackdown
A child and her mother who are experiencing homelessness
Homelessness

Homelessness soars in England due to sky-high rents and asylum backlog crackdown

Renters should be compensated if they're forced out of their home, campaigners say
Renters' rights

Renters should be compensated if they're forced out of their home, campaigners say

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know