Police and security resisted at housing occupation

The week-old ‘Community Squatting Project’ had its first brush with the law on Wednesday 11th November but successfully defended its’ premises. Police arrived with council-hired security in the late afternoon demanding entry, but the doors were bolted. They gained access to the second floor of the block, which is currently unoccupied, but were prevented from taking the stairs by a barricade. A call for solidarity was sent out over the North East London Squatters Network (NELSN) phone network and quickly supporters arrived on the scene. The situation was relatively calm, and seemed to be largely instigated by a determined local – who needs to be found and asked what their issues with the Project are, and resolution hopefully found. Police told the crowd that there had been reports that the new residents had been removing supporting walls, making the building structurally unsound! Their evidence were a couple of piles of breeze blocks visible in the courtyard. It was pointed out to them that these blocks had nether paint, wallpaper or cement on them, so could not be from an internal wall. This did not convince them, and they demanded two officers be given access to the building to check we were attempting mass suicide by masonry. A meeting was called to debate this demand, and it was rejected: the risks were far too high. Once the police or owners are given access, the legality of the occupation is over. Instead a police liaison team were asked to try and diffuse the situation without granting the demands. The team, one of whom is an L&S activist, eventually convinced the police to simply look through an open window and check the walls were still there. This apparently had not occurred to the sergeant. So, round one to the occupiers – but rumours abound that Hackney Council are already preparing a legal challenge to turn the building back into a derelict shell and family onto the streets by Christmas.