Squatters have occupied the George IV pub, Brixton Hill, to try and prevent Tesco from continuing their development of a new Express store in the building.
The group, called Rage Against Tesco (RAT), entered the ground floor of the building last weekend, one of them told the Brixton Blog today.
George IV Music Bar was closed earlier this year, with developers leasing the ground floor space to the supermarket Tesco for a “basket” convenience store. Residents mounted a vocal campaign objecting to Tesco taking over the space, drawing the support of local MP Chuka Umunna.
A petition against the new Tesco store has been signed by 1639 people.
Update to follow.
Some of us from the local Lambeth Anti-Cuts group, and also apparently from the local anti-Tesco campaign, have been trying to get hold of RAT folk to offer help/solidarity/communication etc. Well frustrated!
Suggestions? eg Rockegirlzoo?
Cheers!
This is all I could find when I searched ‘Rage against Tesco’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCvka1uwuo
Police barricaded Cheltenham Road in Stokes Croft on the evening of 21/04/11. News reports say that police entered a squatted building opposite a newly built Tesco Express store on suspicion that there were petrol bombs on the premises. Here’s some of what happened later on that night…
Hi Rockegirlzoo, Can you tell us what you have planned for the future of the George IV pub if/when RAT are successful, and Tesco withdraw their planning applications? Will you then vacate the pub so it can once again be used as a public or communal space for the people who live in Brixton Hill?
Rockegirlzoo, sorry for any upset caused on this. We were told by somebody who said they were one of the Rage Against Tesco group that they were organising a fundraising event at the pub, and that’s why it was originally included in the report. We removed any reference to it as soon as we got your email last night.
This is not happening your sources have got it wrong take it down now!! there is no party so dont publish things that aren’t right