The edge of precarity: Squatting in England and emergency crisis planning
In recent decades squatting has been under near constant assault from a variety of ruling class actors. In 2012 the Conservative/ Liberal Democrat government banned squatting in residential properties for the purposes of living. Councils, Conservative and Labour alike, treat squatters as a public health issues and pressure property owners to fast track evictions. The (still) rising property market in London and other major cities has incentivised owners to use… Continue reading
Eviction raises questions over Manchester Mayor’s homelessness campaign
New Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s pledge to help street homeless people as a major plank of his candidacy seems to have gone off the rails after his office failed to actively respond to protests over the eviction of a self-organised occupied space in the centre of the city.
Around 40 people squatting at the Hotspur Press building off Whitworth Street were violently evicted and made homeless earlier this… Continue reading
Manchester’s self-organised homeless challenge Andy Burnham to join them
Organisers at squatted former arts space Cornerhouse have called on new Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to go a step further than simple charity donations and engage directly with homeless people in finding solutions to the city’s rough sleeping crisis. Cornerhouse, owned by Network Rail, has been occupied by homeless people and Manchester Activist Network (MAN) since January and successfully saw off … Continue reading
Italy: Six arrests in latest raid on Asilo anarchist squat
Heavily armed officers from the General Investigations and Special Operations Division of Italy (Digos) broke down the front door and invaded the Asilo Occupato (occupied asylum) building in Turin on Wednesday, arresting six activists.
Occupants of the anarchist-run space, located on Via Allesandria, in the neighbourhood of Aurora, resisted for several hours on the roof of the property before the raid. Carabinieri (Italian militarised police)… Continue reading
Brighton land occupation evicted – so activists squat £100m development
A homeless camp set up in Brighton on April 5th to protest against a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which has been imposed on the city’s parks and seafront was evicted on Wednesday — and activists have responded by taking over a building linked to a £100m development project.
The Circus Street DIY Squatted Social Centre has been set up at the city’s old university building and… Continue reading
Belgravia squatters occupy THIRD mansion
Squatting collective the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL) continue to underline exactly how much high-end housing is lying empty while homeless people sleep on the rain-soaked concrete, having spent last night moving into another mansion.
The group wrote: “Facing a police enforced eviction at 4 Grovesnor Gardens, ANAL have decided to relocate AS CLOSE TO THE QUEENS BEDROOM as possible…. Overlooking Wellington barracks, introducing our new squat,… Continue reading
Greece: Refugee support centre squatters held in court limbo after eviction
A number of anarchists, including international militants Itziar and Iñak (pictured) have had their trial put off yet again in Greece following the violent eviction of three squatted social centres in Thessaloniki, Greece. The trial was supposed to take place on Thursday 26th, but has been rescheduled for June 22nd, marking nearly a full year since the violent eviction of three squatted migrant solidarity centres in the city.… Continue reading
ANAL Belgravia squatters fight off fascist thugs
Belgravia squatters the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL) report that they fought off an attack on the 28th from heavies wearing fascist-linked masks, who seem to have been trying to get them out of the mansion belonging to Russian billionaire Andrey Goncharenko that they squatted on Wednesday.
At the time of writing they are asking for more support to head down to 102 Eaton Square to… Continue reading
Slovenia: Squat crackdown hits UPI social centre
Activists at Creative Platform Inde (UPI), one of Slovenia’s most active squatter social centres, have refused to leave after being threatened by the government through its State asset management arm BAMC, which is using the excuse of asbestos safety works. In a statement, the group said:
UPI welcomes the planned remediation of hazardous waste (asbestos, used needles) in the former factory INDE. However, we are announcing that we… Continue reading
Campaign squats hit Leicester and Oxford as Apollo House resists eviction
Pic: Iffley Road
Campaigners against homelessness in Leicester have shifted from the city’s Jubilee Square to the grounds of its oldest medieval house as the weather gets more damp and cold, calling for the government to end its deadly cuts to support services.
The Leicester Homelessness Party group’s action comes just days after another group, Wadham Help Homeless, occupied an empty campus space owned by Oxford University making… Continue reading
