UK Indymedia - Bristol: occupied homeless centre faces eviction

Bristol: occupied homeless centre faces eviction

The Hub | 14.02.2011 17:23 | Free Spaces | Public sector cuts | Repression

Homeless people in Bristol have occupied a former homeless advice centre recently closed down by the council. They are now facing eviction by notorious bailiffs Constant & Co

After weeks of legal battles, it looks like the occupied former homeless centre “The Hub” in Cumberland Street, St Pauls, is finally facing eviction. A court date is set for Friday the 18th, 12:00 noon and the occupants are expecting immediate action on behalf of notorious bailiffs Constant & Co if their case is lost.

The eviction of the Hub and the adjacent building, both owned by “London’s biggest landlord” Daejan Holdings PLC, makes (even more of) a joke of Mr Cameron’s visions of a “Big Society”. “This is what actually happens when citizens volunteer to provide much needed public services themselves” say the squatters, “tens of thousands are spent on evicting homeless people from buildings that for some part have been empty for a decade”

Constant & Co, the racist bailiffs calling themselves “Gypsy and Traveller eviction specialists” have a track record of brutality, destruction of property and unlawful conduct. They have been under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive following evictions of Traveller sites across the country and were responsible for the bulldozing of the Bristol Eco village last year. They also hold a several-million-pound contract for the eviction of 1000 people from Dale Farm, Essex, which is expected next month.

If you have an opinion on this that you would like to communicate to the relevant authorities, here is a selection (please make sure you are extra polite to Constant & Co, as they are undoubtedly shaken by the Constant experience of kicking old people and children off their own land):

Councillors:

Shirley Brown (LibDem)

 shirley.brown@bristol.gov.uk

(0117) 377 3527

Dr Jon Rogers

 jon.rogers@bristol.gov.uk

(0117) 914 2558

MP:

Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

326a Church Road,
St George,
Bristol BS5 8AJ

Tel: 0117 939 9901
Fax: 0117 939 9902

House of Commons
Tel: 020 7219 3000
Email:  mccarthykg@parliament.uk

City Council Housing Officials:

Nick Hooper, Head of Strategic Housing, Bristol City Council.

 nick.hooper@bristol.gov.uk

( 0117) 922 4681

Anthony Negus, Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Regeneration

 anthony.negus@bristol.gov.uk

(0117) 353 4713

Richard Nochar, Housing Solutions Service Manager

 richard.nochar@bristol.gov.uk

(0117) 3532661

Constant & Co

Bedford: 66 Harpur Street, Bedord, MK40 2 RA,

(01234) 340091

 Bedford@constantandcompany.co.uk

Milton Keynes: 163 Queensway, Bletchley, MK2 2DZ,

(01908) 374374

 Miltonkeynes@constantandcompany.co.uk

Daejan Holdings PLC

Freshwater House, 158-162 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8HR

Telephone: 020 7836 1555

Fax: 020 7497 8941

 Mark.Jenner@highdorn.co.uk

The Hub

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