'I live in a makeshift shack on a pavement in a street - I'm happier than ever'
One woman said she’s happier than ever in her self-made shack in the middle of the street, despite the South London council’s threat to remove it.
Anne-Marie, 50, built her home around a tree on a Brixton street after she was forced to leave her home in Clapham a few weeks ago. Wooden pallets, Astroturf, strips of vinyl flooring, and plywood, make up the walls of Cover’s makeshift home - but Lambeth Council has ordered the destruction of the entire structure.
Anne-Marie told MyLondon: “I’ve been in the country for 20 years and this is the happiest I have ever been, I have somewhere to be.”
The 50-year-old decided to build her own home (Robert Firth)Now she faces being homeless again, as the council has ordered her home to be destroyed by September, 15. Citing Anne-Marie’s home as an “obstruction” a council removal notice pinned to the shack last week says and that it may be removed by the council if she doesn’t disassemble it.
Anne-Marie added: “At first I was sleeping on the ramp on a nearby building but they said it was a disabled ramp and so I took a piece of cardboard and laid down my bed and reading glasses here, I just had to have somewhere. A lot of people were asking me if I knew what I was doing when they saw me building it, but there was one lady who helped me. She helped me from 11 at night until three in the morning. It’s built around a tree. It took a long time to build. It was not just overnight.''
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Lambeth Council ordered her to disassemble her pop-up home (Robert Firth)Anne-Marie said she has equipped the shack with most essentials, including a plastic box that she uses to wash in, a paraffin heater to keep warm after dark, as well as several chairs and a place to sleep. When she needs the toilet, she takes a five-minute walk to the centre of Brixton and makes use of the toilets in local businesses. She has several containers for wastewater, which she disposes at night down nearby drains.
She added: “I don’t really cook, I’ve never cooked a meal in here, I eat readily available things. I bought some sardines yesterday and I have got some banana chips. I don’t really have much of a craving for cooked food. There's quite a lot of water that runs off the side of the building opposite and I get water from that.”
Anne-Marie's housing problems began when she had to suddenly leave a property where she was staying in Herne Hill after the owner told her that she must leave. She then moved to Clapham for a short period but claims police boarded up the place she was staying in.
As for what Brixton locals think about her arrival on the street, Anne-Marie said most residents had been intrigued more than anything. She added that there had been a couple of incidents of holes being slit in the plastic covering around her makeshift home.
One passing Brixton resident said she didn’t think Anne-Marie should have to budge from her spot. The woman, who declined to give her name, said: “I don’t understand why she has to go. I don’t know why she is there but I see her putting her washing out sometimes. It’s not a problem.”
Councillor Maria Kay, Lambeth’s cabinet member for reducing homelessness, said: “We work hard to support rough sleepers in the borough. People’s individual circumstances can be complex, and we seek to work in a sensitive and supportive way. That is the case here where we are offering both medical and housing support. The structure itself has been put up without permission and the situation has resulted in disturbances for people living nearby.
''We are mindful of the welfare of a vulnerable person here, as well as the needs of local people.”
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