UPDATED EVERY THURSDAY
Thursday 26th February 2004
All content © New Journal Enterprises, 2004.
 
 
 
 
 
NEWS   BY RICHARD OSLEY

The Wombles, above and below, took to the roof in freezing temperatures
Squatters repel police eviction bid
BAILIFFS and police abandoned an attempt to evict a group of international activists who have taken over a building in Kentish Town when they were met with barricades and a rooftop protest on Tuesday.
The group, known as The Wombles, moved into the building, opposite Eleanor Palmer Primary School in Fortess Road, in January and turned it into a “social centre”.
The Wombles, who have taken part in demonstrations throughout Europe, including last year’s anti-war protests, the G8 summit in Geneva and May Day celebrations, have set up similar bases in Belfast, Rome and Paris.
They invited community support by organising a month-long programme of events, including film screenings and social gatherings.
But the squatters were hit with an eviction order two weeks ago after a successful challenge by the building’s owner, Mark Oliver Homes.
The firm declined to comment on the stand-off but is thought to want to bulldoze the building and put up flats and a commercial unit.
The Wombles, whose catchphrase is All Nations Are Prisons, say the work will not begin until after March 31 and are pleading to be allowed to stay until that date.
But the requests have been ignored and on Tuesday morning a group of 50 protesters were forced to stave off an eviction attempt by constructing makeshift barricades.
With hand-made banners reading “They Cannot Evict Our Dreams” and “We Will Not Be Silent”, the group formed a human barrier and closed off a driveway with metal barriers and rolls of carpet.
Protesters manned entry points and some took to the roof, despite plunging temperatures and flurries of snow.
Bailiffs and police are expected to return to the building before the end of the week.
One member of The Wombles, who works as a student support teacher in a south London school, said: “Sometimes people drive you to squat. There is no community space for us to put our ideas to good use.”
But there has been a mixed reaction from neighbours in Fortess Road. One resident told the protesters: “You’re constant banging has kept me up all night. It’s not your decision whether it is knocked down. If it carries on like this, I will knock you down.”