Monthly Archives: December 2014

INCREASE IN EVICTIONS; UPSURGE IN RESISTANCE

**cross posted from rabble.org.uk**

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Just as the number of evictions in England and Wales soar to the highest levels since records began 14 years ago – up to 11,000 repossessions from July-September (that’s well over 100 per day) – it seems that housing struggles are also on the up again.

Map of London estates facing eviction

A show of solidarity prevented the eviction of a Newham mum and her three kids this morning, when a load of comrades confronted the bailiffs at the house, outnumbering them five to one. The bailiffs left and a meeting was arranged with the housing association, Notting Hill Housing, who agreed not to take any further action until January and to try and have the family re-homed in the borough asap.

Later in the day, a group called Lewisham Homeless Person’s Union confronted paper pushers and security guards at the council offices in Catford, demanding housing for the hundreds of homeless people in the borough. Security blocked access to most, but 3 people were able to meet with bureaucrats, the results if any of which are not yet known.

New Era 4 All is a campaign by residents of the New Era housing estate in Hoxton to keep their rents down. Tenancies there have been made more precarious since their homes were bought by the filthy rich scumbag private equity firm, Westbrook Partners, who are trying to raise rents there in line with market rates of the area, which would mean tenants paying around £2,400 a month. Residents and supporters marched to Westbrook’s offices in central London yesterday and handed them a petition to stop the rent hikes, supported by over 250, 000 signatures.

This new wave of energy is no doubt thanks in part to the tenacity and success of theFocus E15 mums campaign, which began after Newham Council cut funding to a hostel for vulnerable young mothers and their kids. The campaign led to the families getting re-homed in the borough and the creation of a temporary social centre from occupied homes on the Carpenters Estate, which became a hub of skill sharing and plotting for the two weeks of its existence. The Carpenters Estate itself is in the process of slowly being depopulated and demolished, but the publicity generated by the occupation led to some, short term, concessions being won – Newham Council agreed to house 40 people on the estate on a temporary basis.

We’ve also seen public sabotage from the Black Revs, who smothered anti-homeless spikes with concrete, while Class War picked a good target with 19 weeks of dogged protests against poor doors at the yuppie flats of One Commercial Street, forcing the owners into talks. In October, there was a roudy mobilisation against the MIPIM property fair/plunder in Kensington, as well as a counter conference.

The following month there was some good news for squatters too, as four more s144 defendants were acquitted when it proved too difficult for the prosecution to show that the property was designed or adapted for residential use before the occupation. See theAdvisory Service for Squatters for more on this.

Housing Action Lambeth & Southwark (HASL), who do grassroots solidarity work with people most screwed over by landlords, have issued a callout to support T and her family, who are facing homelessness by Southwark Council, at 2pm on Monday 8th at London Bridge. You can also join HASL’s eviction phone network here.

The E15 mums are holding a New Year’s Eve party to celebrate the energy, support and victories of the past year. They are inviting anyone who’d like to get active in this stuff and make more victories in 2015.

Successful eviction resistance this morning

ILLEGAL EVICTION OF PROTEST OCCUPATION

On 27th of November, 2014 the (A)nti-Social Centre was threatened with eviction. For 3 months the squatted space hosted numerous radical events such as the MIPIM counter-conference, anti-fascist, Student organising events, Radical Housing Network meetings, all sorts of fundraisers and info-nights.

On the day, the plan was to pre-empt the eviction by moving to other empty buildings nearby. These were three empty houses 5 minutes up the road on Argyle street that had an open window. They belong to the social housing landlord ‘One Housing Group’, that had allowed the properties to remain empty for some time despite the need for homes in the area.

The eviction of Guildford Street went ahead and the new occupation (24-28 Argyle Street, WC1) had barely started when on the evening of Saturday 29th November 2014 private security personnel – who had been seen around the property since almost the start of the occupation – moved in to forcefully and illegally evict the occupiers inside using a sledgehammer to break down one door. This was done in the presence of police who did nothing to prevent what appears to have been a criminal act by One Housing Group and Assured Guarding security services.

Check out the video.

ANTI-SOCIAL CENTRE EVICTION, OCCUPATION, EVICTION 27/11/14

Russell Sq, London: (A)nti-Social Centre successfully resists eviction, then evicted following morning

Russell Sq, London: (A)nti-Social Centre successfully resists eviction, then evicted following morning

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Update 28/11, 8am: After an urgent call for support, bailiffs gained access and evicted the space.

Update 27/11: Thanks everyone for making today possible. It was a great success if not a bit of a spectacle :) The new place is incredible and we want to have it up and running and filled with events as soon as possible. Watch this space!! Decent homes for all!!!

Callout 26/11: The Anti-Social Centre is re-occupied territory. A radical space that is home to community organizing, such as the Radical Housing Network counter-conference to MIPIM, Anti-Fascism, squat-network dinners, fundraisers for Zapatistas, No Borders, and more.

The centre has also been home to over 40 people, including families and asylum seekers, throughout its life. A fight for the Anti-Social Centre is not only a fight for accessible housing, but a fight against the privatization of public space for private use.

The fight for the Anti-Social Centre is also a fight against colonialism and capitalism. 66-67 Guilford Street is owned by the Rothschild Trust Corporation Limited, a purchase made possible from a colonial past. In England, the Rothschild family funded Cecil Rhodes expedition to colonize Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and continues to manage Rhode’s estate of stolen goods from around southern Africa. Leaving land destitute in Zimbabwe, the Rothschild Trust now wants to create destitution – for people and land – in London. Aided by the criminlization of residential squatting (§144 LASPO), the state and private corportations make housing increasingly inaccessible.

From the metropolis to the colony, we continue to fight against the colonial theft of land and the unceasing accumulation of capital.

Tel: +44 7542 202659
E: antisocialcentre [at] riseup [dot] net

 

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