Westminster council has asked TfL for a time-bound plan to secure land under the Marylebone flyover. People got back in after fencing went up last time.

Westminster City Council has written to Transport for London demanding a firm timetable to secure the land beneath the A40 Westway at the Marylebone flyover, where people have been sleeping rough in an encampment.

The council helped TfL win a possession order for the site. Fencing went up afterwards, but people have since got back in. TfL owns the land, and the council says only TfL can secure it.

The letter is dated 11 November and signed by Councillor Caroline Sargent, the council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Enforcement. The council published it the same day with a news release.

The quick answer

  • What: the council wants TfL to set out a “clear, time-bound” plan to secure the land under the Marylebone flyover and stop it being occupied again.
  • Why now: a possession order and fencing have not worked, and the council says the site is taking up its officers’ time.
  • What TfL is doing: the council understands TfL is considering more secure fencing and longer-term options, and has drafted a letter telling people on the site to leave.
  • The people sleeping there: the council’s outreach team is still offering them support.

What the council’s letter says

Cllr Sargent wrote that it was “unacceptable that this situation has been allowed to continue for so long without a lasting resolution”.

The letter lists the problems the council says residents and businesses are reporting:

  • repeated waste
  • anti-social behaviour
  • concerns about safety

It also says there are “ongoing concerns about the welfare of those sleeping rough at the site”.

The council asks TfL to explain why the possession order has not led to further enforcement. It also wants to know what legal and operational steps TfL now intends to take.

On TfL’s longer-term plans, the letter is blunt. Those discussions “must not, however, become a reason for delaying action now”. On the draft notice to leave, it says that “alone will have no impact if not supported with a clear plan of action”.

Why the council says it is TfL’s job

The letter says council officers are answering repeated complaints, and the outreach team keeps engaging with people on the site. It says those visits “cannot substitute for TfL, as landowner, taking the action necessary to secure and manage its site”.

Cllr Sargent wrote that residents “understandably see a single public-sector problem”. She added that the council was “increasingly being challenged about the absence of effective action”, even though the fix needs TfL to act.

The issue “continues to be debated in the Council Chamber”, the letter says, and “further open-ended assurances will not be sufficient”.

The council’s release and letter do not say how many people are sleeping at the site, when the possession order was granted, or when the fencing went up. TfL’s press release page carried no response on Thursday morning.

What it means for you

  • If you are worried about someone sleeping rough at the flyover or anywhere else, send an alert through StreetLink. It passes the details to the local outreach team.
  • If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
  • Dumped rubbish and other street problems can be reported to the council through its Report It service.