TfL spends £37k on clearing homeless encampments

Encampments have appeared on Park Lane over recent years

Transport for London (TfL) has spent almost £37,000 on removing homeless people from Park Lane since April last year, it has been revealed.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the transport authority said it had spent the money on court costs and instructing bailiffs and legal counsel, with fairly large encampments basing themselves in the area over each of the last two summers.

TfL, which owns the green stretch of land running down the dual carriageway, has worked with Westminster City Council to remove the encampments.

Homeless charity St Mungo's called for a compassionate response. TfL said "no-one should be faced with sleeping rough" but that Park Lane was not safe.

In its reply to the FOI request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), TfL revealed it spent £35,260 in 2024-25 and £1,714 so far this year.

A spokesperson confirmed an additional £404 had been spent since the FOI response was received – making a total of £37,378 – with further court charges expected in mid-August.

They said people who had been sleeping rough in Park Lane had been made aware they would be removed if they returned and that security staff would patrol the area.

Homeless charity St Mungo's said rough sleepers need a compassionate response

In 2021, Westminster City Council staff had to clear piles of rubbish and dismantle an encampment thought to have occupied the space for around seven years.

Last October, TfL removed a group of about 40 people from the site having been granted a possession order the month before.

Park Lane, which runs adjacent to Hyde Park, is one of central London's best known streets

Conservative councillors Paul Fisher and Tim Barnes previously said TfL and Westminster City Council needed to "provide a lasting solution" to the camps.

"Otherwise we will be back at square one," they told the LDRS in May.

"This is unacceptable at the centre of our capital."

A spokesperson for St Mungo's said people facing rough sleeping in London needed to be supported into accessing emergency accommodation, housing in the private rented sector and specialist accommodation.

The TfL spokesperson said: "Park Lane is a busy part of the road network that is not a safe place for people to sleep rough and our focus has always been on the safety and welfare of everyone involved.

"People who have been sleeping rough at this site have been made aware that returning to the site is not an option and that they will be removed."

A Westminster City Council spokesperson previously told the LDRS its support services were "comprehensive and there is no reason a person should have to sleep rough – on this site or anywhere else in the city".