Do you live in Notting Hill and want to avoid the Carnival? Council recommends going to the seaside to dodge West London festival – as homes are boarded up before ‘millions’ descend for weekend event
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Residents boarding up their houses before ‘millions’ descend on Notting Hill Carnival have been told to ‘enjoy a seaside break’ by the council if they don’t like the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the event.
Older residents of the plush London area are being given a free seaside break in Eastbourne by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea so they can escape the crowds’ crush.
The trip includes a coach ride of more than three and a half hours each way to a hotel where elderly locals can stay from Saturday until Tuesday.
This means that the scheme, which is run in collaboration with Age UK and has been in place for more than 20 years, will see the local elderly gone before celebrations start in earnest and back once Notting Hill has been cleaned up.
Emma Will, Lead Member for Culture, Leisure and Community Safety at RBKC said: ‘The Carnival brings together people from all places to enjoy and celebrate the rich culture and diversity in the borough and we’re happy to support the event, but we also respect that the noise and crowds are not for everybody.
Older residents of the plush London area are being given a free seaside break in Eastbourne by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to avoid the carnival crowds
It comes as some homeowners in the area have been seen to board up their properties as the joyous event can often descend into violence and disruption
Facilities – including toilets – have been prepared before the masses of festival-goers descend on the plush London streets
Rows of toilets have been set up on rows which usually sport luxury cars in the parking spaces
Bins have been prepped with straw at the bottom ahead of ‘millions’ descending on London
Last year, police made 209 arrests at the carnival for offences including criminal damage, common assault, drug possession and possession of an offensive weapon
Notting Hill properties have been boarded up to make them safe ahead of the raucous festivities
The trip to help older residents avoid the event includes a coach ride of more than three and a half hours each way to a hotel where elderly locals can stay from Saturday until Tuesday
This means that the scheme, which is run in collaboration with Age UK and has been in place for more than 20 years, will see the local elderly gone before celebrations start in earnest and back once Notting Hill has been cleaned up
Priority for the trip is given to people who have been before and those whose health may be affected by the carnival’s crowds
‘We are once again proud to be working with Age UK to organise a trip for our older residents, so they enjoy a break at the seaside over the bank holiday weekend.’
READ MORE: Notting Hill braces for the Carnival: Luxurious west London homes are boarded up ahead of world-famous street festival, with ‘millions’ set to descend this weekend
Priority is given to people who have been before and those whose health may be affected by the carnival’s crowds.
It comes as some homeowners in the area have been seen to board up their properties as the joyous event can often descend into violence and disruption.
Last year, police made 209 arrests at the carnival for offences including criminal damage, common assault, drug possession and possession of an offensive weapon. Drill rapper TKorStretch, real name Takayo Nembhard, 21, was also stabbed to death, while two female cops were sexually assaulted.
The event is hugely popular and has been known to attract an astonishing 2 million people in years gone by, as revellers flock to see the three-and-a-half mile parade with colourful floats and performances.
It will close down a huge section of west London from 6am on Sunday August 28 to 6am on Tuesday August 30.
However due to the fallout, residents in the area have taken precautions, with one admitting she is ‘scared’ of it.
Munian Barakat, who lives in the area and is originally from Palestine, told The Sun that the front of her building and her front door gets used as a toilet, and rubbish is thrown over her fence.
Due to the fallout, residents in the area have taken precautions, with one admitting she is ‘scared’ of it
Graffiti already adorns hoardings in the posh area of London as police release advice to help people visiting the carnival to ‘stay safe’
Residential properties are Boarded up in Notting Hill, West London ahead of Notting Hill Carnival
The festival, which began in 1966, will see streets across west London closed this bank holiday weekend to celebrate Caribbean culture, arts and heritage
But some homeowners in the area have been seen to board up their properties as the joyous event can often descend into violence
‘That’s why I asked the neighbours to put up the wooden barriers because it’s really dangerous,’ she said. ‘I’m an old woman.’
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Ms Barakat is going to her daughter’s house for this year’s carnival but is worried she may come back to find her ‘house destroyed or the windows broken’.
She added: ‘There’s too much noise when the carnival comes by and it can be scary. It’s messy. People are sometimes drunk and hitting each other.’
The Met Police released advice to help people visiting the carnival to ‘stay safe’ as the event progresses.
In a speech shared on social media, DAC Alison Heydari advised people not to go against the flow of the crowd and to plan places to meet friends and family rather than just relying on their phones.
She added that people should keep their belongings with them at all times and not bring their cars to the carnival, but plan their routes in advance.
Businesses in the area even pay companies to board up their establishments.
And the boarding up of property is not cheap, as wine bar manager Luigi Gaudio paid a whopping £1,500 to have his store protected.
She added that people should keep their belongings with them at all times and not bring their cars to the carnival, but plan their routes in advance
Businesses in the area even pay companies to board up their establishments – at prices that can cost as much as £1,500
Some locals are escaping the area as they fear the sheer number of people set to pack the streets – but they worry their homes will be damaged when they return
The event is hugely popular and has been known to attract an astonishing 2 million people in years gone by, as revellers flock to see the three-and-a-half mile parade with colourful floats and performances
It will close down a huge section of west London from 6am on Sunday August 28 to 6am on Tuesday August 30
The council gets local artists to graffiti the wooden boards after they have been erected in advance of the festival
He added that the council gets local artists to graffiti the wooden boards after they have been erected.
In advance of the carnival’s commencement tomorrow, the Met Police tweeted: ‘We have highly visible police presence within the area of Notting Hill with the #NottingHillCarnival23 this weekend.
READ MORE: Notting Hill Carnival 2023: Dates, schedule, lineup, timings, map and parade route… everything you need to know about Europe’s largest street party
‘Please enjoy the carnival safely – but if something doesn’t feel right, speak to an officer, safety steward or dial 999 in an emergency.’
As well as criminal acts, there was a huge crush at last year’s festival that left ‘helpless’ police trapped alongside revellers, activating their panic buttons – and leaving colleagues fearing ‘another Hillsborough’.
Videos shared across social media from August 29, 2022, showed an enormous crowd amassing on Ladbroke Grove that was swelling to dangerous levels.
At the scene, police officers were caught up in the chaos and left helpless, while desperate revellers were seen clambering over the railings to escape the impending crush.
The situation had reached such a critical point that the Territorial Support Group called in an emergency and warned they were ‘getting crushed to death’, the Times reports.
One reveller posted on social media: ‘I was right in the middle, thought I was gonna die. Can’t lie, just had to go with the flow of the crowd.’
As well as criminal acts, there was a huge crush at last year’s festival that left ‘helpless’ police trapped alongside revellers, activating their panic buttons
Videos shared across social media from August 29, 2022, showed an enormous crowd amassing on Ladbroke Grove that was swelling to dangerous levels
The situation had reached such a critical point that the Territorial Support Group called in an emergency and warned they were ‘getting crushed to death’
At the scene, police officers were caught up in the chaos and left helpless, while desperate revellers were seen clambering over the railings to escape the impending crush
Another wrote: ‘Almost died in this’.
And a third added: ‘The police waited till it got that bad as we warned them to cut if off from one of the floats as the DJ stopped the music and asked for help and was ignored. To the point the public were screaming at the police to call for back-up. We were ignored.’
Chris Hobbs, a retired Metropolitan police officer, said his first reaction after witnessing the crush was to think of Hillsborough.
‘I saw police among it helpless. That’s the bigger problem than the violence – the potential for another Hillsborough’, he added.
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