'It's like being in a zoo': Residents want Airbnb to stop 'pimping out' their street for Paddington
ITV reporter Olivia Guthrie explains why the residents of a picturesque London terrace are demanding companies stop "pimping out their street" for profit
To fans of Paddington it’s the home of the Brown Family, a quintessential – and fictional - London street, where the infamous bear finds a place to live.
But in reality, it’s Chalcot Crescent – a residential street in Primrose Hill, where the locals are getting increasingly fed up with the street’s notoriety.
Things came to a head as it emerged the Paddington movie makers have teamed up with Airbnb to offer three families the chance to win a stay in one of the homes as part of the promotion for their new film 'Paddington in Peru'.
Residents have written a letter of complaint as they are tired of their homes being - as they put it to ITV News London - "pimped out for profit".
Ahead of the film's release in the UK in November, Airbnb is to spend two weeks temporarily redecorating the home and will block five car parking spots on the street, according to The Times.
The residents, who would only speak anonymously, told ITV News London that they love Paddington, but they don't love the competition, calling it a step too far.
In a letter to Airbnb, obtained by the Camden New Journal, residents suggested Paddington competition winners would “think twice” about wanting to stay in the house if they knew how “the project is getting in the way of the locals living peacefully on their street going about their daily lives.”
They added: “Chalcot Crescent is our home, our real world. It is not a public or commercial venue.”
The Grade II listed pastel townhouses - reportedly worth £4 million each - are not new to notoriety and have formed the backdrop to films such as Bridget Jones.
The residents told ITV News London they’re growing increasingly frustrated at TikTok tourists and influencers who are trying to get the perfect shot for social media, in front of the colourful Regency facades.
People who live here told us they're a nuisance and often have no qualms about filming residents in their homes. They are worried this competition will bring even more of them.
Chief Exec, Primrose Hill Community Association Mike Hudspeth, said: "Some people have said it's like being in a zoo, people are coming and filming them in their front room and kitchen's when they're going about doing their business, so I think that's what they're upset about."
Airbnb says it has donated £20,000 to local charities here and have been careful not to name Chalcot Crescent in their promotional material.
The company says the uproar by the residents is what is attracting more attention.
StudioCanal has not responded to ITV News' request for comment.
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