A dozen homeless people were evicted from their sleeping spot by the hospital in November last year as police, security and bin workers arrived to throw away tents – a move which sparked widespread fury and led to apologies and promises there would be no repetition

A HOSPITAL has submitted a planning application to permanently block tents used by people experiencing homelessness being put up outside.

University College London Hospitals has submitted an application to build 30 bike stands and eight bollards “to ensure that tents cannot be pitched in between cycle stands”.

Jennifer Mills-Knutse, a senior pastor at the American Church in Tottenham Court Road, told the Extra in response to the application: “It’s really important to me that when we look at these issues of people behaving poorly on the street that we draw a distinction between people who are rough sleeping and those engaging in anti-social behaviour. It is not a crime to have no place to live, but having no place to live also does not grant licence to engage in street harassment or other inappropriate behaviour. And many of those engaging in anti-social behaviour are not rough sleeping at all.

“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.”

The church operates a soup kitchen that feeds 200 people six days a week as well as a winter shelter.

The latest UCLH application follows a row last year after the NHS trust instructed authorities to remove a group of rough sleepers living in tents outside the Macmillan Cancer Centre in Huntley Street, citing “public health concerns”. Footage of the tents being bundled into the back of a dumper truck went viral and caused outrage from campaigners.

UCLH’s mobile Find and Treat service, which treats TB among homeless people, said in a post from the team’s X account that the incident was “utterly shameful”.

Barriers were later set up around the site to stop people sleeping there in the section of the street that had become attractive to struggling people in the cold winter due to warm air being emitted from vents.

In a letter on behalf of the hospital, the plan 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 ongoing 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 spokesperson for Streets Kitchen, the campaigning homeless outreach group, said the language used in the application was “as if they are referring to rough sleepers like rats being attracted to the bin sheds”.

They added: “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? Bike theft is a huge issue in London and not attributable to rough sleepers only.”

Jo Hurford, who lives opposite the site in Huntley Street, 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.”