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| Angry squatters evicted in police
raid on theatre |
Swoop ends battle to prevent building
becoming a church again
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Squatters Bruce and Sewyn confront a police officer
Squatter Eliot Goldstein
Members of House on the Rock church look on during the eviction
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SQUATTERS were evicted from an Archway theatre by bailiffs and
police on Tuesday.
Bailiff’s backed by 32 and security guards smashed a padlock
to enter St George’s Theatre in Tufnell Park at 10am.
The eviction marks the end of a year-long fight by squatters to
prevent the former church in Tufnell Park Road being taken over
by its new owners, the House on the Rock church. The Pentecostal
group, based in Wembley, secured a High Court order for the eviction
of the squatters.
Six of 15 squatters are believed to have been in the theatre when
bailiffs arrived. They complained police had not allowed them to
collect their belongings.
Technical Rescue Unit police with climbing gear were present in
case squatters climbed into the church’s 40-foot high belfry
but were not needed.
Police set up a holding area on site but it was not required. One
squatter was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for an alleged
attack on a bailiff.
One squatter, Sewyn, 41, was involved in a ferocious argument with
police officers who refused him access to the building to collect
his belongings. Later, he said: “I guess we will just have
to move on.”
Squatter Eliot Goldstein, a 38-year-old musician, said: “Everything
I own is in there. They turned up this morning with no paperwork,
no identification, nothing.”
The squatters, many veteran travellers and protesters, have run
theatre workshops, youth outreach projects and support services
for vulnerable people, including the homeless.
But residents living nearby have complained of all-night raves,
dogs barking and a fire in the theatre’s backyard.
Bruce, a 41-year-old squatter, said: “There was no trouble
and we went peacefully. When they turned up I let them in through
the front door.
“We did so much work for the community. The DJ workshops for
the kids were immensely popular.
“The police even came around when we moved in last September
and said they were happy with what we were doing.”
But one resident, a 69-year-old grandmother who did not wish to
be identified, said: “They burned a lot of rubbish and the
noise from their parties would keep us up all night. They don’t
pay any rent or council tax.”
The squatters are trying to overturn the High Court decision. |
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