Czech Rep: Klinika radical centre threatened with eviction
On Tuesday September 5th the municipal court in Prague opened the way for the eviction of Klinika, an autonomous social centre set up in one of the city’s old clinics. The State, which owns the site, successfully argued that it shouldn’t have to a extend a unique contract drawn up with the Klinika collective in 2015 which allows them to stay and self-manage the building.
The collective… Continue reading
Book Review: Squatting in Britain 1945-1955
by Norman Spinrad ISBN: 978-1-60486-810-4 PP: 264 Publisher: The Merlin Press £16.99
After World War II, many people squatted empty properties, often government-owned ex-Army camps, since a housing crisis had been created as a result of the hugely damaged housing stock, slow state action to build new homes and a huge influx of returning servicemen as well as displaced peoples from other countries.
Don Watson’s “Squatting in Britain… Continue reading
Shock eviction of Cornerhouse centre puts 20 people on streets
Homeless people rounded on Andy Burnham’s Labour administation in Manchester today after 20 people were rousted out of the well-regarded Cornerhouse squatted centre in an early-morning raid.
Manchester Activist Network, which has been heavily involved in the space, said today they will be looking to hold highly-paid council bosses to account for promises made during Mayor Burnham’s election campaign in May that his team would “end rough sleeping by 2020”:… Continue reading
Hamburg mayor threatens radical sites as Berlin squat rallies against cop siege
Intense pressure is being put on German radical social centres in Hamburg and Berlin in the wake of last month’s G20 protests, with Hamburg’s mayor threatening Rote Flora and a round the clock siege of Teppichfabrik, which has prompted a solidarity rally in the capital today.
The gathering, in front of the squatted centre in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, starts at 6pm (7pm GMT) will bring some relief… Continue reading
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
