The tent village at the heart of Westminster: Homeless encampment pops up on ... trends now
A 'tent village' has sprung up yards from luxurious The Savoy hotel and several West End theatres.
The makeshift encampment on Adelphi Terrace is in one of the wealthiest areas of London close to designer shops and restuarants owned by Gordon Ramsay.
The Five-Star £800-a-night Savoy Hotel contains three of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, including the Savoy Grill, the River Restaurant and £175-a-head Restaurant 1890.
Footage and pictures show rows of tents being used by homeless people just a brief walk from the hotel and the Savoy and Adelphi theatres.
The 'village' began over the Bank Holiday weekend and is now home to a dozen tents with the occupants using a mixture of sleeping bags and mattresses.
One occupant John Torrance, 45, believes the government is more concerned with immigrants than they are with the homeless.
He said: 'There’s more money going on immigration than there is trying to help the homeless. We’re spending billions on other people’s problems but what about people in our own country?
The tent village near The Savoy hotel in Central London where homeless people are sleeping
John Torrance who says the government spend more on migrants than the homeless
Looming over the encampment is the Grade II-listed Adelphi building, which is the home of the Economist magazine and Spotify, and was once the offices for the Department of Works and Pensions.
Mr Torrance originally from East Yorkshire, has been on the streets since the age of 17 and thinks: ‘The government and the council don’t want us to be around, where there’s shops and all that lot. It looks bad for business, bad for the tourists.
‘It’s life. You get used to it. It’s no different than being indoors.’
Those living in the tents do their best to keep the area clean.
One tent had a sweeping brush outside, while other rough sleepers had put their rubbish carefully into plastic bags.
Some of
