Urgent Appeal: Occupation Of 34 Broadway Market, E8

[newbie]

good luck people in your dealings with the courts and the press.

 

[Divisive Cotton]

good luck people in your dealings with the courts and the press.

Court case starts at 10.30am - there was an interesting development yesterday in regards to this - I'll be able to go into more details later.

 

[Divisive Cotton]

There's a full page article in the Evening Standard - I haven't read it yet though

 

[Onket]

some good photos of the occupation here

http://www.kristianbuus.com/34broadwaymarket/

I can't get that to work.

Might just be me though as no-one else has mentioned it.

 

[haggy]

its been taken down, apparently. may be put back later.

 

[lighterthief]

What are the other shops or businesses that Wratten owns on Broadway Market? Obviously the ex-Little Georgia, but what else?

 

[Divisive Cotton]

What are the other shops or businesses that Wratten owns on Broadway Market? Obviously the ex-Little Georgia, but what else?

Property No. 2, 4, 30 and 32 (the former Market House pub) and land to the rear of numbers 26 - 36.

This is in Broadway Market - there are other property spots within walking distance.

Funny enough, although the occupiers have never called for a boycot of the businesses at these addresses - custom has dropped away to nothing at all of them.

 

[lighterthief]

Okay, but what businesses currently operate at the properties Wratten owns? The Market House pub has been shut for years, and we know about the caff and the little Georgia. What's at numbers 2 and 4?

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Okay, but what businesses currently operate at the properties Wratten owns? The Market House pub has been shut for years, and we know about the caff and the little Georgia. What's at numbers 2 and 4?

Over to Haggy on this question...

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Latest news from the court - 'it's going to trial'. No idea really what this means other than it will drag on all day and all arguments will be heard.

 

[Hoxtontwat]

Is there a date?

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Is there a date?

Yes, today - I've been informed 'it will drag on all day'.

 

[Hoxtontwat]

Fingers crossed then!

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Fingers crossed then!

It's either gonna be or

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Just read the Evening Standard article - not bad for them

 

[marty21]

Just read the Evening Standard article - not bad for them

haven't read the article yet, but the standard has always liked having a go at hackney, so this sort of stuff is manna from heaven for them...

 

[Hoxtontwat]

Millionaire Kept at Bay By Bacon Buttie Barricades!! Classic

 

[montevideo]

a long fucking day in court. Around fifty or so people turned up this morning to show their support, the 3 defendants (only one represented) did excpetionally well under the circumstances, argued that they have the right of occupation because of 'implied licence' given by wrs wratten (a director of the company concerned in buying the property & wife of roger wratten) when she came into the cafe, signed the petition & donated to the fund & offered her verbal approval of what was going on.

Unfortunately the judge wasn't convinced an 'implied licence' could objectively be proved (has to be said he very much toyed with people in his summing up, he kept reminding people how 'urgent' this hearing was & he was determined to hear it today) & found in favour of the claimants, wratten & his mob. It means they have been given a possession order, which means court appointed bailiffs will have to serve an eviction notice on the occupants then go about evicitng them. This can take up to 6 weeks, longer if the first eviction is resisted.

After court everyone went back to the cafe for an emergency meeting about where things go from here, & despite the setback, the mood was upbeat & defiant, seems people want to get organised properly & are treating it seriously.

There's going to be a cafe tomorrow evening, all welcome to come down & get involved.

I'm sure your man haggy will fill people in on the details.

 

[laptop]

If it is found that some kind of foul play did take place, what legal chances are there of reversing the sales so that the local shop keepers can buy the properties after all?

Immediate answer is that any such action would take years.

However, it'd certainly be worth talking to an actual lawyer on Monday to find out whether there's a process for starting a challenge to the Doctor's ownership that could lead to an application for a "stay" on eviction proceedings... I think ASS would be the place to go to find contacts for the few lawyers that would understand the question.

Presumably the dub grocer that Hari K mentioned in the Guardian is also facing eviction?

 

[newbie]

Funny enough, although the occupiers have never called for a boycot of the businesses at these addresses - custom has dropped away to nothing at all of them.

That sounds unfair, it's hardly their fault, and potentially divisive

 

[Divisive Cotton]

Broadway Market Occupation
Update 10th December 2005

COURT CASE

Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in opposing Dr Wratten’s possession proceedings in court on Friday. However, instead of being heard in 10-20 minutes which is usual in these matters, the case went to trial and His Honour, Judge Latham, took until 4pm to reach his decision. He also gave Dr Wratten’s lawyers a very hard time. Much was made in court of the actions of Mrs Wratten, who is one of the directors of Market House Ltd, the company that wants to demolish Tony’s Café. Mrs Wratten made a visit to our occupation where she accepted tea, chatted with protesters and even signed our petition and gave us a donation. Judge Latham described her actions as
’foolish’.

But at the end of the day the wider issues surrounding our occupation (for example the problems with the sale and planning permission) were not seen as relevant to the case in the eyes of the law. This meant that Dr Wratten’s property rights were given precedence and he can now evict the protesters.

An appeal is planned and must be lodged by 23rd December.

This decision has in no way dampened our enthusiasm to get justice for Tony and other affected traders in Broadway market and to continue challenging gentrification in the area.

PRESS
The Evening Standard has continued its coverage of the events in Broadway Market. It devoted a whole page to the matter in Friday¹s edition and journalists were present at the court case.

London Tonight are sending a film crew to the occupation on Sunday morning we ask anyone who wants to show support to come along before 11am in a show of strength!

We are receiving an increasing number of calls from the press and media and many have started to become interested in the wider story of council corruption.

POLICE INVESTIGATIONS
We have now learnt that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has appointed a senior officer to deal with criminal investigations relating to commercial property sales in Hackney.

PLANNING ISSUES
Bill Hodgson, Chair of Planning in Hackney has told us that he is happy to refer the issues around planning consent for 34 Broadway Market to the Independent Planning Directorate a government body - for review.

 

[TAE]

I'm gutted about you losing your case, but at least there are more and more people looking into the whole matter now.

 

[totaladdict]

Bill Hodgson, Chair of Planning in Hackney has told us that he is happy to refer the issues around planning consent for 34 Broadway Market to the Independent Planning Directorate a government body - for review.

worth bearing in mind that the planning inspectorate are the people that developers normally go to if this kind of thing is refused by a local authority (ie the opposite to what seems to have happened here).

 

[William of Walworth]

DC .. as far as you can tell (and say ) now, what are your hopes of appealing against the eviction, as you outline above?

Surprisingly good coverage in Friday's Standard, and that Guardian article earlier in the week was excellent. And shocking to those such as me who are used to hearing all the time of how bad Lambeth, next door to me, are, but knew much less about Hackney

 

[lighterthief]

Okay, but what businesses currently operate at the properties Wratten owns? The Market House pub has been shut for years, and we know about the caff and the little Georgia. What's at numbers 2 and 4?

Popped out and did my own research: 2 must be the ex-Little Georgia (now La Vie En Rose), 4 is vacant but has recently been done up (does anyone know what used to be there? I don't remember), 30 and 32 must be the old Market Porter pub (vacant for years) as previously posted and then of course Francesca's Cafe.

Not sure I would have classed the Little Georgia as a 'working class' hangout, that's for sure.

 

[haggy]

it's very late for me, now, and i'm going to my own bed tonight for a change, but i'll try and pick up on some of this stuff when i have time. please check the updates posted by div cotton - tho he's there tonight watching 'the battle of algiers' for some inspiration. we have london tonight tv crew down tomorrow morning, and keep an eye on ch4 news in the week, and time out possibly.

we have a public meeting organised for thursday night in a local church hall.

collected tons of cash from guilt-ridden m/c guardian readers at saturday's 'farmer's' market. keep us in gas bottles and photocopying for a good while...

 

[Divisive Cotton]

DC .. as far as you can tell (and say ) now, what are your hopes of appealing against the eviction, as you outline above?

I can't really go into too many details here mate - but the answer is slim.

 

[Divisive Cotton]

please check the updates posted by div cotton - tho he's there tonight watching 'the battle of algiers' for some inspiration

Learnt some useful tacticals tips from this film

 

[catch]

30 and 32 must be the old Market Porter pub (vacant for years)

afaik (which isn't much) 30-32 aren't vacant, people are living there and paying rent to a certain developer. I agree they look vacant.

Not sure I would have classed the Little Georgia as a 'working class' hangout, that's for sure.

As far as I'm concerned, the case of Little Georgia shows this is a two or three stage process. First, a small number of artists move into an area attracted by cheap rents. These are enough to make it interesting for enough media workers/'creatives' to follow them into the area, who in turn maintain places like Little Georgia and the Dove (and 291 gallery, and now the 'Farmers STYLE Market'). Most people I know in Hackney who fit the artist description also are very much a part of the working class, however people variously promote gigs, set up small gallery spaces, often in otherwise disused buildings, which makes it more attractive to media workers and other 'creatives' to move to.

I'm a musician and used to live about 5 minutes walk from Broadway Market, plus I promoted several gigs at 291, and ate at Little Georgia a couple of times. However, during that time I've had full-time low-paid day jobs in the NHS or schools, and by no means could I afford to drink in the Dove regularly (got stung for £8 for two pints in there once, ouch), or go to Little Georgia casually, or otherwise keep that side of the economy going.

As can be seen in Shoreditch and Spitalfields, after that initial wave, and once the area has been built up to a certain extent, the money starts flying towards it very quickly, and it rapidly turns into something very, very different. Spitalfields Market is the most obvious example as it gets swallowed nearly whole by an office block and retail square for lawyers and their banking neighbours. Old Street has changed significantly even since I moved to London in 2002. Recent studies showed that only city workers can afford flats in that area now, with the 'creative'/media workers priced out already.

In part this is simply a process of the expansion of capital and the city outwards, however, as can be seen by the involvement of UBS/Hidden Art in Broadway Market and organisations like East London Cultural Industries Development Agency, it's also consciously promoted by regeneration and arts funding bodies with the clear stated aim of developing the local economy (a euphemism for pushing up house prices and attracting developers). What we're seeing in Broadway is an acceleration of this process on a smaller scale. I think the feeling around that area, is although there's a lot of personal sympathy for the people who worked in Little Georgia, it also represents the process which led to its demise.

Although I don't agree with working class/middle class as descriptors of people, however in somewhere like Broadway Market, most of the 20-35 year-old people moving in, at least first-wavers, are also people who don't need to use local facilities like Laburnum school (closed down, to make way for a city academy), Haggerston Pool (also closed) which mainly cater to families. Many of them (including me though not by choice, I simply can't afford to live 'round there now) will move out again when they want to settle down more, leaving those who've been in the area for a long time to deal with the fundamental changes to their area as shops and housing becomes unaffordable and people are (physically) forced out.

 

[montevideo]

Solidarity Cafe Night at Tony's cafe - friday 16th dec

Solidarity Cafe Night - friday 16th dec
at Tony's (Francesca's) Cafe
34 Broadway Market, E8
Hot food & drink
6pm onwards.

From the flyer:
Support the occupation of tony's cafe
against the gentrification of hackney.
Residents of Hackney have occupied the long-standing and popular cafe Francesca’s on Broadway Market, recently sold off by corrupt Hackney Council to rich developers (to turn into expensive flats) against the wishes and needs of the local community. We invite you to a cafe night.

Remember this is our community. It’s up to us to defend it!

For those who want to get involved in the occupation we have meetings, 7pm, every Saturday at the cafe. Your support is essential.