Police were called to squatters occupying a disused Lambeth council building in Brixton Hill from the early hours of this morning.
Porden Road, at its junction with Brixton Hill, remains closed with a number of police in the area after people occupied the building in Town Hall Parade .
According to the Metropolitan Police, protesters broke into disused council buildings at 3am this morning. Neighbours also reported hearing the police helicopter overhead at about 6am.
A police spokesperson said: “Police were called shortly after 3am to around 20 protesters inside and on the roof of the disused Brixton Town Hall building.
“Officers are in attendance. There has been no arrest.”
UPDATE: Protesters leave peacefully
The real pain this morning was the helicopter making a racket quite early for what seemed like a while, I really thought there might actually be some real trouble out there, what a waste of police funds! And was it really necessary to rope off the whole pavement, which forced pedestrians on to the road (a particularly hectic junction) crammed with rush hour traffic and angry bus drivers? Maybe I’m missing something, but I was under the impression that Lambeth council were a) trying to save money/make cuts and b) provide a safer community!
If anyone is guilty of wasting time and tax payers money it’s the Council, not a bunch of squatters, who wouldn’t be there in the first place if Lambeth hadn’t just left it empty for so long and perhaps got it together to develop it accordingly.
I thought that criminal charges under the new anti squatting act only applied to residential property?
Yes I do not understand this. Squatting law applies to residential housing not commercial. Anyone now how they could do this so quick?
It’s a disused building? When Lambeth Council is forcing people out of their homes due to the cuts – what are they expecting? It’s our town hall – it belongs to the people – so they can sit in there all they want. It’s better than it not being used at all as far as I’m concerned.
Facebook and Twatter are regressing you to a state of teenage narcissism. Drop the paranoid conspiracy theorising and read a few books and apply some reason instead. The blogosphere. Is a form of radiation turning everyone into imbeciles. Believe me, I know about radiation.
Where’s that come from? Where’s the evidence of teenage narcissism? Who’s showing paranoia based on conspiracy theorising? And who are you to suggest we don’t read books and are more than adequately equipped to apply reason? Some blogs do indeed waste my time and it seems yours, to infer that they are all a form of radiation is ridiculous, to imply they turn ‘everyone’ into imbeciles is just damn right rude and clearly small minded. To take time out to read, then comment on a story within a blog suggests you are one of these ‘imbeciles’ you speak of. You’ve been contaminated with something that’s for sure.
There are currently 18 police officers in attendance and the pavement is sealed off forcing pedestrians into the road
Completely over the top.
Loving all the indignant and ignorant squatter cliches. Keep ’em coming please! No-one’s yet said ‘put some soap through the letterbox, that’ll get them out pronto!’. Ha ha
They have no legal right to waste mine and other tax payers money.
If they are so angry why can’t they talk to this left wing blog? They haven’t made any case, you guys on the blog are making the case for them?
This isn’t positive action its a disorganised, time wasting rabble. Make a coherent argument and make it properly instead of this shambolic throwing your toys out of the pram teenage tantrum.
Okay. What are the squatters trying to prove here? I am a local resident and I do not want my council to pay for Lambeth Council to go through courts to evict or the cost for policing for that matter. I would rather let developers have the building so Lambeth earn some extra money for vital services, business can tenant and pay rent and supply local jobs …maybe even to a few of the squatters.
please note that squatters rights no longer appliy if lambeth council say i want them out there trasspasssing the police can go in there and remove them at anytime
Erm, what are the police actually there for? They haven’t got any rights to evict as it stands, so pointless their being there….
Excellent!
Lambeth’s scheme of ‘selling’, sorry, that actually means ‘giving away’, council buildings to developers, in exchange for usage of some parts of the buildings, should be scrutinised closely. Who wins here? Not the residents of Lambeth, that’s for sure.
And big questions need to be asked about Lambeth’s policy of evicting Housing Co-ops in order to sell their homes (of up to 40 years!) at public auction. No consultation with residents. Reams of misinformation spouted publicly and in court. Our Councillors are being lied to by council officers… Something nasty lurks in the heart of Lambeth council.
More Protests Please!
The building is not hambrook house it is the empty advice centre opposite. They have a legal right to be there until court is served.