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My neighbours are oligarchs like Roman Abramovich on UK’s priciest street… I can barely afford groceries and water bills
TITE street in Chelsea is the wealthiest road in Britain – a place where oligarchs rub shoulders with the elite and where the biggest worry is who owns the most luxurious super yacht.
But just a mile down the road at the World’s End estate, people are scrambling for council-donated supermarket vouchers and queuing at food banks as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
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The Sun visited the area and found that residents feel disgusted and ignored by the multi-millionaires that cruise past in Land Rovers, or overhead in fancy helicopters, in the borough dubbed the most divided in the UK.
While they cannot afford a pint in the upmarket World’s End pub across the way, the entitled inhabitants of the £28million-plus mansions along the Thames never dip their hands into their pockets to buy a round.
Jane Gray, 67, is the manager at the Neighbourhood Advice Centre on the estate and said: “I don’t think wealthy people give us a thought, basically.
“They’ll come on to the estate to go to the World’s End pub, which is now a club for the rich and not a place for local people, as we can’t afford it. But we are ignored, generally speaking.
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“It’s not my business to think about the wealthiest street in Britain as my focus has to be on the people living here.
“There are some very wealthy local people who help, but not very many.
“Some will give a donation or come in with a box of toys or some clothing, but it’s quite rare to be honest.
“This side of the road is World’s End and over there is the King's Road and they are very different places."
As the UK battles a cost of living crisis, hard-up Brits are being warned that soaring energy prices are unlikely to fall for years.
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Rocketing household bills are piling on the agony for families like those living on the World's End estate, with fears that even basic supermarket goods like fruit and veg could rise by up to 30 per cent in cost.
“Residents here are very worried right now. They are coming in with bills they can’t afford to pay and asking where the food banks are," Jane added.
“Or they are asking where they can get the Sainsbury’s vouchers that are being issued by the local authority.
“I think they are most worried about food and it’s more noticeable now.
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“I’ve been here since 1983 and it’s always been a lovely place to work as the community is great and very supportive of the advice centre.
“But I think Chelsea is very divided and, with the cost-of-living crisis about to hit, I fear it’s only going to get worse.”
Houses for £29m & shops flogging £35k chandeliers
Tite Street was crowned the most expensive in the country last year when the price of the average house hit £28.9 million.
The street, set between the banks of the River Thames to the south and the Kings Road to the north, replaced the previous year’s top spot, Avenue Road in St John’s Wood, London.
While it is not clear who currently lives on Tite Street, previous notable residents have included the playwright Oscar Wilde, who lived there until his arrest for gross indecency, or homosexual acts that were then illegal, in 1895.
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Over at the World’s End, a council estate with 750 homes in seven high-rise blocks that was built in the 1970s, the average income is just £15,000 a year.
This compares to around £100,000 a year for residents living north of trendy King's Road, where bespoke crystal chandeliers can be bought for £35,000 at the Rocco Borghese shop.
Former Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad has dubbed the area “the most unequal borough in Britain”.
'Cost of food is horrendous - and water bills are a big problem'
Widow Helen Morris was among the first residents to move into the World’s End 45 years ago.
The pensioner, 76, whose husband James, 73, died of a heart attack during the pandemic, is struggling to make ends meet after her grocery bill shot up by £20 a week and the council stopped paying her water bill.
She says it makes her feel sick to her stomach when she reads about former Chelsea FC owner and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who used to own a property down the road until his assets were frozen by government sanctions, begging his friends for cash.
She said: “We are very lucky because our heating and hot water is very reasonable, about £12 a week.
“But water is a big problem because it used to be within our rent, then the council took it back and it’s been a disaster.
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“The water company is sending massive bills out – about £400 a year just for one person - and when you write to them they don’t respond. It's the worst communication ever.
“The cost of food is horrendous. I watch my money but my food bill has probably gone up about £20 a week. That’s a lot and I’m only on a pension of about £177 a week.
“I do love living here as we’ve got 44 different nationalities on the World’s End estate and I’ve never heard of anybody not getting along.
“Of course there are problems with youths making noise and being a nuisance but that is everywhere and the building is beautiful.
“If you go up the towers you can see the whole of London. You can see the London Eye, Chelsea Football Club and Fulham.
“At night, when it’s all lit up across the water, it’s beautiful. There’s a helicopter pad opposite and I don’t know who uses it, but not us, for sure."
Helen says the King's Road and the Embankment are "where the money is", but that residents "don't have anything to do with us".
She added: “I do think it’s disgusting and disgraceful when I see how much money some have while other people are struggling.
“People should be brought to task over what they are buying. If they have a lot of money they should be putting it into something that is going to benefit poorer people.
“I saw that Abramovich is asking friends for a million pounds to keep him afloat. How disgusting is that?”
'People like to show off with their money - it doesn't mean anything'
Navy veteran Graham Thompson, 78, moved to a two-bedroom flat on the 10th floor of one of the World’s End towers 10 years ago.
Now retired, he can often be found at the estate’s Salvation Army café, where a food bank operates and a hot lunch with a pudding and hot drink costs just £3.
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He said: “I was a bit nervous coming up 10 floors but when I walked in the flat and saw the view I said, ‘OK, I’ll take it.’
“It’s unbelievable living here. You won’t get a view like this anywhere else in London and at night, when it’s all lit up, it’s magnificent.
“I can tell the time by Big Ben, which I can see from here.
“About 40 years ago this place had a reputation for being very rough, but it’s not rough at all. It’s a very mixed community and it’s all very nice.
“You meet lots of different races, Spanish, Italian, Arabic - and English people.
“We have quite a community spirit here.
“We go to the Salvation Army for lunch and we have an over-50s club and meet there every afternoon. It’s fun.
“If you don’t turn up they call you to check on you. ‘Where are you? Are you alright?’
“People like to show off about how much money they have but it doesn’t mean anything.
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“When I see people driving these big cars, I think, where are you going to park it? I have a small Renault and I can park it wherever I want.
“I don’t feel envious of people with money. Money just means more responsibility. I am very happy with my lot.”
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