Has London’s new Encampment Strategy backfired against neighbours of Watson Street Park?

There’s a growing belief among neighbours of Watson Street Park that council’s decision to extend setback distances between homeless encampments and sensitive land uses has increased the number of unhoused Londoners living behind their homes and businesses.

In June, council adjusted the setback distances before endorsing an updated Encampment Strategy that restricts their size and location.

Almost two months later, some neighbours of the heavily wooded park along the south side of the Thames River (east of Wellington Road) say they’re bearing the consequences of that decision.

“The encampment strategy is strict [about] where people can go, but that’s put them all right behind our properties and near Watson Street and Weston Street,” said Primod Kukadia, who owns a house on Wellington Road.

When council was discussing the Encampment Strategy, city staff warned that extending the setback distances would leave Londoners experiencing homelessness with fewer options.

“At first glance, it looks like the council parameters that have been recommended would essentially render between 80 per cent and 85 per cent of park space as unusable for potential encampments,” Deputy City Manager of Social and Health Development Kevin Dickins told council on June 25.

Unhoused Londoners would likely cluster in the few remaining areas where their tents and makeshift shelters would not face rapid removal by the city.

Ultimately, council backed the following setbacks for encampments:

• not within 150 metres of elementary schools or daycares
• not within 100 metres of a private residential property (with a dwelling)
• not within 100 metres of playgrounds, pools, splash pads, golf courses, and sports fields

The owner of Tropical Pizza and Bar on Wellington Road believes the new rules have driven more people to shelter in Watson Park this summer.

“It's getting worse,” said Wilson Marin Restrepo, who added that they’ve had patio furniture and construction items go missing. “This area is getting worse. Some are [pitching] tents down there close to the river, and it's a very bad situation.”

According to city hall, there are now 22 encampments located in Watson Street Park.

In a statement to CTV News, Craig Cooper, director of Housing Stability Services, writes, “City of London teams responsible for outreach and enforcement have been using discretion with respect to enforcing distances from residences, based on [the] individual environment and circumstances.”

“Is this like an unofficial area where people are being told to go? I've heard that from a few places,” said Coun. Susan Stevenson, who arrived to speak to neighbours while CTV News was filming. “The real question is where do people go? What is our plan as a city to look after people until we have the healthcare and treatment that they need?”

Watson Street Park is in the ward represented by Coun. Hadleigh McAlister, who said, “When you bring in stricter rules, in terms of where encampments can be allowed, we were going to see this, having encampments clustered in smaller areas.”

McAlister added that the city is trying to respond to neighbourhood concerns while at the same time offer services to the encampments and get people into supportive housing.

“[Watson Street Park] is the sanctioned city depot in terms of being able to provide services to people experiencing homelessness. What I would encourage, especially the residents and the businesses, if you do have issues please reach out to our team.”

A pickup truck carrying members of the Community Informed Response (CIR) team arrived at the tents directly behind Kukadia’s house while he was being interviewed by CTV News.

Kukadia expressed disappointment about the response he witnessed from the CIR team, “I can still see a [camp] fire that's not supposed to be there. And the encampment is within 100 metres of my property line, and there's a whole bunch of our stolen property down there.”

In his written statement, Cooper explained, “Many operational elements need to be developed to implement the updated safety guidelines outlined in the Community Response to Encampments, and this will take time.”

Enforcement is also described as reactive, responding to public complaints received by the city.

Stevenson told CTV News, “If this is where encampments are not going to be, then we get to provide whatever level of enforcement is required to fulfill that commitment that we made to [Londoners]. But the question is also, where are [unhoused Londoners] going to go?”