Jolly Old St. Nick has finally packed up his house and moved out of London’s Victoria Park.
Crews dismantled Santa’s House from its spot in front of Victoria Park’s bandshell on Thursday morning and relocated it to its new home outside of Covent Garden Market.
The move, months in the making, comes nearly two weeks after the market received the necessary permit approvals from the city to plant the house on its property.
The small red, green and white structure has been used every Christmas season to raise funds for TLC Foundation, which runs Santa’s House.
Officials with the foundation told Global News last week that the structure would continue to be used as Santa’s House in the lead up to the holidays, but would also be utilized throughout the year for other purposes, including for the outdoor farmers’ market.
The house had become an unintended fixture in the park during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it has stood since late 2019.
“What happened was COVID hit and we just couldn’t move it … all the regulations,” said Leo Larizza, TLC Foundation’s founder, last week.
“In the end, it was great that the city allowed us to keep Santa’s House there all year, they didn’t have any festivals in the park, so it wasn’t really interfering.”
In April it was announced that the house would be moved to the market as the city looked to bring back the park’s summer festivals. Delays, however, caused by permit and scheduling issues and an IUOE strike pushed back those plans until this week.
The house is being reassembled at the northern end of Rotary Square.
“We wanted to make sure that anyone using the house this coming Christmas would be on the same level as the elevators coming out of market parking,” said Ward 13 Coun. John Fyfe-Millar, who helped get the house moved.
“It’ll be fully accessible, which was a really important piece for us.”
The building is expected to be upgraded into year-round condition at a cost of roughly $30,000 and opened to the public as Santa’s House by late November.
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