Category Archives: FocusE15

Turning a legal “defeat” into a real victory: The Sweets Way social centre has moved!

Cross-posted from https://sweetswayresists.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/time-for-a-bigger-place/

Sweets Way Resists responds to a predictably unfair legal decision and gets on with fighting social cleansing.

Today one of the most long-standing principles of British law was reinforced: that private property rights hold greater importance than human rights. A Barnet County Court judge decided to rule against our protest and social centre occupation on the Sweets Way estate, in favour of social cleansing property firm, Annington, even though agreeing with most of our arguments in the courtroom.

Not only did they grant Annington possession over the 160 or so homes of the Sweets Way estate, they even gave them an injunction against future protests taking place anywhere on the site! This is unprecedented and a worryingly draconian case for all involved in housing justice work. However, as long as private property is deemed more legally important than a range of human rights, this kind of thing will happen.

But what happened after the injunction is truly remarkable!

Upon our return from court, we found that the social centre at 60 Sweets Way had been emptied of all the things that made it beautiful. Meanwhile a new property – a five bedroom at 76 Oakleigh Road North, owned by Annington as well, but just beyond the injunction and possession zones – had been occupied and filled with all the makings of a new social centre!

There’s a Mexican proverb that feels appropriate for us today:

‘They tried to bury us, but they forgot that we were seeds.’

The courts may be stacked against us in the fight for decent homes, but the courts have never been where our power lies. Every time they try to shovel another heap of dirt on top of us and hope we’ll go away, we shoot up through the soil with another burst of strength!

So we lost in the courts, but we won in the homes of Sweets Way! And we’ll be here to keep the question of social cleansing on the agenda, and support one another as we fight to protect these buildings from demolition and secure decent homes for all those who have already been forced out of Sweets Way.

As always, come pay us a visit (We’re on Oakleigh Road North now, backing onto Sweets Way), send us food and household stuff if you are able to, keep calling Annington’s offices, and sign the petition to stop the demolition of Sweets Way!

Together, we can defeat giants!

Shout-outs from the day of Eviction Resistance workshops

Shout-outs that people shared at our day of Eviction Resistance workshops:

Upcoming Events:

  • Sun, and Mon 30th, 9.30am: Sweets Way Resists in court, come and support!
  • Tues 31st, 7.00pm: Eviction Resistance organisers meeting – how to start the snowball? (location TBC, we’ll let you know)
  • April 15th: March for the Homeless

Film:

¡SI SE PUEDE! 7 DAYS WITH THE PAH BARCELONA
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOW16NSn4_g
contact: info@comandovideo.net to arrange your own screening (and should be available free online soon)
how-to-guide: https://traduccionesindignadas.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/how-to-stop-an-eviction/

Speakers:

EVICTION RESISTANCE
follow: @EResistance
support: help us spread the word about eviction resistance tactics! update us with your stories so we can fill our blog with examples of how this kind of action WORKS!

SUE LUKES
follow: @SueLukes

PEOPLE’S EMPOWERMENT ALLIANCE, CUSTOM HOUSE (PEACH)
support: we’re setting up our own PAH-style eviction resistance group! if you are near Newham, come show support / solidarity / share experiences.

ADVISORY SERVICE for SQUATTERS (ASS)
support: keep us up to date! we need to hear feedback from you to keep our knowledge fresh. bring us your court papers if you want legal help.

LEGAL DEFENCE MONITORING GROUP (LDMG)
Housing Action Groups:

SWEETS WAY RESISTS
follow: @SweetsWayN20
occupy: 60 Sweets Way, N20 (077516 87326)
support: Come to Barnet County Court N3, Monday 9.30am. Or help us hold the occupied houses by coming to spend a night.

RADICAL HOUSING NETWORK
follow: @RadicalHousing
support: visit the website and find out if there is an action group local to you. if not, let us know, and we can support you to set one up! we meet once a month, usually first Mondays.

FIGHT FOR THE AYLESBURY ESTATE
follow: @Fight4Aylesbury
occupy: call in advance to let us know, as they’ve heightened security (details on website)
support: fill in your objections to the development plans here: http://concreteheartland.info/

DORCHESTER COURT RESIDENTS
support: Brand new group, with residents facing imminent eviction. Listen out for updates from Ravi, come and populate their photo shoot!

HOUSING ACTION SOUTHWARK & LAMBETH (HASL)
follow: @HousingActionSL
support: cause a stink at a fancy breakfast for developers – see above event

FRIENDS OF QUEENS MARKET / BOLEYNDEV100
follow: @BoleynDev100 & @FoQMarket
support: sign the petition, come to our first meeting (see above in events)

BRIXTON ACTION GROUP

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA – GRENFALL ACTION GROUP
support: we’ve become thin on the ground out in West London, so bring support / skillshares to our threatened estates and help us grow the movement out there

TOWER HAMLETS RENTERS
follow: @THRenters
support: listen out for upcoming eviction – we’ll need support!

FOCUS E15
follow: @FocusE15
support: Join the occupation at Sweets Way! Come to our street stall, Saturdays 12-2pm, Stratford High St (by Wilkos)

Plus Camden residents about to set up a new group, Peckham eviction resistors, Skills Network, Brick Lane Debates, Generation Rent, New Economy Organisers Network, Hackney residents, Lambeth Private Renters, Queen Mary’s & Birkbeck Universities, Real Estates, and a handful of radical filmmakers…

Stay in touch! (I’ve tried to find ways for everyone to find each other, but if you can’t find someone you need, let us know and we’ll connect you)

¡Si Se Puede!

Day of Workshops about Eviction Resistance

Join uson Friday the 20th in Hoxton for a day of skillshares, organised with Focus E15 as part of the Radical Housing Network:
 
Eviction Resistance Skillshare Day
Date: Friday 20th March
Time: 12-6pm
Where: PEER Gallery, 97&99 Hoxton Street
 

*12-1pm: Screening of Sí Se Puede! – a how-to-guide to Eviction Resistance from the PAH anti-eviction movement in Spain

*1.30-3pm: Housing and Tenancy Law with Sue Lukes (incl. Migrant Housing Law)

*3.30-4.30pm: Practicalities and Legalities of Eviction Resistance:  contributions from Advisory Service for Squatters, and Legal Defence and Monitoring Group.

*4.30-6pm: Learning from our Experiences: PAH-style group casework session with contributions from Sweetsway Estate, HASL, Robin from Kilborn Unemployed Workers Group, Focus E15, Our West Hendon, Guinness Estate, Skills Network, DIGS, Radial Housing Network and more…

These workshops are especially aimed at residents who want to learn how to protect their homes and their Right to Housing. Friends and supporters of the residents are welcome too, obviously!