wates-wolmar-squatting-real-story

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Press AssociationOccupying Centre Point (left) in central London, January 1974. The block owned by Harry Hyams had beenleft empty for 11 years. Emerging from the West End crowds, 80 people with sleeping bags and other essentialequipment are safely inside within 90 seconds. Barricades are erected immediately (below) and a squatterwho got a job as a security guard in order to obtain the uniform, convinces the police that there is no point instorming the building (bottom left). The squatters’ aim is publicity and they plan to leave peacefully afterthree days. Bottom right: Makeshift sleeping arrangements.Press AssocWhen the squatters come out on Sunday afternoon(right), they are greeted by a large crowd ofsupporters (bottom right) with mixed chants of‘well done’ and ‘stay put’. Bottom left: OrganiserRon Bailey is interviewed by TV men.Martin Slavin Martin SlavinCamera Press Martin SlavinPress Association37
Prince of Wales Crescent, Camden, where squattersexperiment with ‘alternative lifestyles’ and differentforms of community organisation. Below: CommunitySupplies, a cheap organic food supplier.Aden KellyLiz JellinekMike GoldwaterChris Steel-PerkinsTaking the whole streetAs well as raising questions about the amount ofhousing available, squatters increasinglychallenged the nature of housing and the qualityof community life. In many towns whole streetswere empty pending redevelopment schemes,and these were gradually occupied creatingsizeable squatting communities. One of the firstwas in the streets surrounding Prince of WalesCrescent in Camden, where by 1972 there were28O mainly young people squatting. One third ofthem had university or college degrees ordiplomas, yet it was far from being a traditionalmiddle class city neighbourhood.Employment patterns were unconventionalwith most people working freelance or doingcasual work to earn money. The average wage in1972 was estimated at £7 per week. Having beenempty for up to seven years the houses werefairly derelict and conditions were primitive.Skills such as wiring or plumbing had to be selftaughtand shared with people less able to do it.The increased leisure time available to peoplewho often chose to live on low incomes enabledthem to do more for themselves. It also allowedpeople to experiment and put ideas into practice.Several squatters started workshops – electronics,engineering, silk-screening, jewellery and carpentry.A derelict site was turned into a park witha sand pit, paddling pool, cafe and treehouses.Musical events and barbecues were held regularlyand two community newspapers were started. Acreche began and unused food was collected fromnearby markets and distributed free.Enterprises sprang up and flourished both insquats and in buildings licensed by CamdenCouncil:•Community Supplies began as a cheaporganic food supplier, where customers weighed,packed and priced their own goods. Demand wasso great that a bulk store was opened servingpeople from all over Britain.•The Institute of Art and Technologyconverted a former dairy into a centre for artistsand craftsmen working in new media.•The Centre for Advanced Television Studiesbegan as a nationwide information centre forvideo users.•The Craft Shop promoted home crafts suchas candle making and tie-dyeing.•The Guild of African Master Drummersmade high quality drums.Other groups which found a home around theCrescent included Airworks (a centre for air structures),the London Film Makers Co-op, LittleSister of Jesus, European Theatre Exchange, Polytantricand Action Space.Almost everyone lived in shared or communalhouses, often because the houses couldn’t easilybe divided into self-contained flats, but sometimesfor more positive reasons. One person enthusiasticallyendorsed communal living as a response to‘the adverse psychological effects ofindividuals living alone – neurosis, depression,alienation – which can in extreme cases lead topsychosis and general personality breakdown.People in this area have learnt from bitterexperience and have set about changing theircircumstances – hence the development ofcommunity spirit. None of the residents have anydesire to return to the isolation of a bedsitter.’ 7There were leaflets about various objectives ofthe community: a ‘decentralised urban selfmanagedcommunity’, a ‘green revolution in thecity’, finding ‘new ways of human interelationships’,and building a ‘new culture from the pieces of theold’. Inevitably such ideals could not be sustained.They were, in essence a middle class luxury, promotedby people who could often retreat to a wellpaidprofession or a comfortable parental home ifthe going got rough. The relaxed atmosphere alsoattracted some people who shared few of the idealsof early Crescent squatters. At times, drug addicts,alcoholics and thieves threatened to overcome thewhole community. Houses were constantlybroken into, local tenants antagonised and thecommunity spirit started to fall apart.In response, squatters started to form their ownforms of self-help community care. The MentalPatients Union was set up and provided a crisiscentre where people with psychological difficultiescould help each other and remain in contact withsympathetic members of the community. Othergroups dealt with drug dependency and a communitywork directory was established to enablethe unemployed to develop new skills and servea community which could not pay commercialrates. A ‘police force’ was established and someimprovement was made. However, the problemscreated by the people with severe psychologicalor social difficulties manifested on occasion bytheir excessive use of drugs or alcohol remainedboth in the Crescent and in later squattingcommunities. The very transience of mostsquatting communities meant that a satisfactorylong term solution on how to deal with theseproblems seldom had time to develop effectively(unlike in Christiania in Denmark (p213) whereafter a number of years extremely successfulforms of self-management have evolved).In December 1973 the Prince of Wales ResidentsAssociation was set up and an attempt made topersuade the Council to shelve its redevelopmentplans and let the community stay to retain andreinforce its identity.‘It is a genuine organic community. Plannersare searching desperately to produce thisphenomenon in new estates, so far withoutsuccess. Prince of Wales Crescent is anexcellent example of what people can do if leftto their own devices.’ 7An alternative plan was drawn up. Housescould be rehabilitated on a self-help basis costingbetween £300 and £3,000 per dwelling comparedwith £9,000 for new build – saving £1/2 million.A further £300,000 could be saved by turning thestreet into open space instead of knocking downhouses to make one. Mixed uses could be allowedto continue instead of providing just housing and‘turning a socially mixed area into anotherdesert-like council development where theinhabitants are socially homogeneous.’ And morepeople would be housed because the densitycould remainat 180 persons per acre instead ofbeing reduced to 125 persons as laid down ingovernment rule books for redevelopment.The squatters suggested that the Council shouldsee the area as an environment for experimentingwith ways of living, and that it should actuallytake a positive interest in its growth. But theCouncil was not up to the challenge and rejectedthe squatters plan and eventually the squatterswere evicted (p65).Squatting communities grew up all overLondon: at Bristol Gardens, Charrington Street,Tolmers Village, Finsbury Park, Longfellow Roadand many other places. A few similar communitiesoccurred outside the capital, too: Hebden Bridge,Bristol, Brighton etc. Each one was differentdepending on its size, the conditions of theproperty, the amount of security, and the peopleattracted to them. Some were made up of peoplefrom predominantly middle class backgrounds;others were almost exclusively working class.Some, like Prince of Wales Crescent, shared ahippy ideology which never truly adapted toovercome social or political problems.And they all invariably changed rapidly, respondingto external and internal pressures. But commonto most was a sense of identity seldom found intowns. People had a sense of living somewherespecial, symbolised by the street carnivals and partieswhich became a regular feature of squattinglife (see p 190). For some people, albeit only asmall minority of squatters, squatting began to bemore than simply finding a roof, it became fun, itoffered new freedoms, a sense of community...almost a way of life in its own right.3839
Page 1: Squatters are usually portrayed as
Page 7 and 8: empty properties have been brought
Page 9 and 10: Daily TelegraphTime Out 1973Raissa
Page 11 and 12: Adam Harvey 1978Tony Sleep 1978Mike
Page 13 and 14: Setting the stageThe new squatting
Page 15 and 16: Redbridge thuggeryThe most importan
Page 17 and 18: Illustrated London NewsBrian Weske/
Page 19 and 20: Siege mentalityIt was not only‘hi
Page 21 and 22: Here there and everywhereThe mid-se
Page 23: office development, on a site forme
Page 27 and 28: Squatted land and buildings areput
Page 29 and 30: The Guardian46Salisbury TimesReadin
Page 31 and 32: Evictionall overEnglandUnion Row, K
Page 33 and 34: Time OutGutting by Quadrant Housing
Page 35 and 36: Trouble With NeighboursNot all host
Page 37 and 38: the most alarming or sinister ‘st
Page 39 and 40: Squatters’ demonstrate. (See page
Page 41 and 42: Tony SleepThe Squatters Handbook is
Page 43 and 44: Squatters’ posters. (See page 234
Page 45 and 46: Squatters brighten up the environme
Page 47 and 48: A whole new ball gameWinning conces
Page 49 and 50: The London Squatters Union is set u
Page 51 and 52: altogether accurately, ‘squatting
Page 53 and 54: over the world.At first the GLC ins
Page 55 and 56: Housing Action’s attempts to take
Page 57 and 58: Some historySquatting in Britain be
Page 59 and 60: Winstanley and the DiggersBetween t
Page 61 and 62: The post war squattersby Andrew Fri
Page 63 and 64: Squatters take over luxury flats in
Page 65 and 66: I asked them how they had liked squ
Page 67 and 68: Better than the telly any dayOutwit
Page 69 and 70: The TimesDavid HoffmanDavid Hoffman
Page 71 and 72: We won, you should fight them tooGr
Page 73 and 74: Maida Hill Squatters, through Paddi
Page 75 and 76:
Peter Johns/ The GuardianPress Asso
Page 77 and 78:
Victory Villaby Nick Anning and Jil
Page 79 and 80:
The wreckers. Top and bottom: Sound
Page 81 and 82:
Is there life after squatting?Winni
Page 83 and 84:
Mike GoldwaterMike GoldwaterTristan
Page 85 and 86:
The erosion of squatters rightsHow
Page 87 and 88:
premises. They must take care not t
Page 89 and 90:
Using the spaceby Andrew InghamChap
Page 91 and 92:
Frestonia, West London - Tony Sleep
Page 93 and 94:
Proposal by squatters in Hebden Bri
Page 95 and 96:
‘I Peter Manzoni, restorer, of No
Page 97 and 98:
Penne David‘The Squatters Show’
Page 99 and 100:
Outpost of a new cultureSquatting c
Page 101 and 102:
Mike WiggKlaus KaldeTony SleepCarol
Page 104 and 105:
a joke he’s got a badge on his ca
Page 106 and 107:
Chris Schwarz/ CHARget the backing
Page 108 and 109:
Squatting around theIts not just Br
Page 110 and 111:
The end of a squat in Hamburg, West
Page 112 and 113:
of Queen Beatrice under the slogan
Page 114 and 115:
with increasing public support for
Page 116 and 117:
The backgroundThe housing crisisA s
Page 118 and 119:
The housing crisis cannot be concei
Page 120 and 121:
level, specific circumstances can b
Page 122 and 123:
include in part of the Criminal Law
Page 124 and 125:
28 Morcton C and Tatc J, ‘The Vac
Page 126:
The contributorsNick Anning, born 1
show all

wates-wolmar-squatting-real-story

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?