rampART losses possesion case but buys two more weeks
parting | 20.12.2007 22:37 | Free Spaces | Social Struggles | London
Today the rampART social centre lost in court against a claim for possession. A possession order will now be granted although not until the 3rd Jan 2008.
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE NEWS ALERTS ABOUT LONDON SOCIAL CENTRES?
Text 'follow londonscn' to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.
If you are interested in making sure there are new social centres to fill the void, please come along to the meeting on the 6th. (more details closer to the time).
In the meantime, in their last newsletter, the rampART collective made a call out for help sorting out RAMpart2 (toward bottom below)...
The whole out of the blue eviction threat smacks of a vindictive punitive reaction to the campaign of objection against the proposed demolition of the houses next to the social center. It turns out that the so-called new owners of the houses are in fact a wholly owned subsidiary of the 'previous owner', the Rampart Trust Co Ltd that still owns the warehouse which the social center occupies. Even though there is no planning permission in place or applied for in relation to the social centre, they claim that they intend to start demolition in Jan/Feb 2008. Obviously this is impossible and they know it, so their attempt to have us evicted is not really because of any impending work in the new year.
Speaking of planning, it is still possible to lodge objections against the proposed new houses on the site of the existing houses. The officer dealing with the case is currently on leave and so the consultation period has apparently not been closed. If you've not yet written and especially if your address is one in Towerhamlets, then please write a letter perhaps objecting to the proposal on the grounds that it involved a demolition inside the conservation zone and the new construction will totally change the character of this piece of east end heritage. You might also mention that the owner is on record as planning to make an application relating to the building next door and therefore the development should be considered as a whole to really understand the visual impact that the changes currently proposed might have.
As well as providing your name and address, you need to clearly specify in the subject the application number PA/07/02707 and the fact that the letter is for OBJECTION (eg. subject : Objection to Application PA/07/02707 - 7-11a Rampart Street)
All the objection letter can be sent to Benson Olaseni, who will circulate the letter to Simon Ryan the case officer.
Here is the email :
benson.olaseni@towerhamlets.gov.uk
You might be interested to know that the solicitors working for the owner in their claim to have us evicted are Brecher Solicitors who are at Heron Place, 3 George Street, London ( admin@brecher.co.uk, 02075631000) and give that address as the care of address for the co-claimants, the Rampart Trust Company Ltd (owned by Mr Wolfe) and RMO Developments Ltd (owned by Rampart Trust Co. Ltd)
While they keep their addresses off the claim, an internet search provides the following info.
RAMPART TRUST CO LIMITED (Registered No. 00394626)
27 NORRICE LEA, LONDON, N2 0RD
Rmo Developments Ltd. (Registration Number: 6183351)
Mowbray House, 58/70 Edgware Way
Edgware Middlesex HA8 8DJ
A little over a year ago, a property company sent somebody called Richard Selby to visit the buildings with Mr Wolfe, the beneficiary of the Rampart Trust - apparently to show a financier around for the purposes of a valuation. Coincidentally this Heritage Group (020 8958 0000 info@heritagegroup.co.uk) actually shares the same address as RMO Developments Ltd.
The agent acting for the owner in all dealings relating to the proposed developments is Alan Camp Architects ( +44 (0)20 7593 1000 mail@alancamp.com 88 Union Street London SE1 0NW). They've also had the involvement of Miller Property Consultants (17 Hogarth Avenue, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8BE 01277 233 100 / 07957 544 007 advice@millerproperty.co.uk).
I'm sure that in some countries there would be hordes of angry direct action anarchist types and cyber hackers causing obstruction and disruption to the evil ones but here things are usually done differently. We are making a call out for the following...
Offers of vans and drivers for transport when we have to move out.
Ideas and offers of storage space for the resources in the rampART
Notification of empties for future new social centres
Mobile phone numbers of those willing to drop everything to come defend the space.
Volunteers for people to reccy and access shortlisted buildings
Mobile numbers of people up for initially holding down a newly opened building.
A signup sheet of those up for helping clean up and fix up such a building.
A list of those people either wanting to act as live in 'care takers' or those up for being on an occupation rota.
email rampart at mutualaid dot org
We are also organising a meeting which aims to breath new life into opening not just one new space to replace the rampART but initiate a london social centres collective which would try to ensure that there are plenty of social centres, preferable throughout London on an ongoing basis.
It will take place 2pm Sunday 6th Jan 08
please pass the word and come along if this interests you.
In the meantime, in their last newsletter, the rampART collective made a call out for help sorting out RAMpart2 (toward bottom below)...
The whole out of the blue eviction threat smacks of a vindictive punitive reaction to the campaign of objection against the proposed demolition of the houses next to the social center. It turns out that the so-called new owners of the houses are in fact a wholly owned subsidiary of the 'previous owner', the Rampart Trust Co Ltd that still owns the warehouse which the social center occupies. Even though there is no planning permission in place or applied for in relation to the social centre, they claim that they intend to start demolition in Jan/Feb 2008. Obviously this is impossible and they know it, so their attempt to have us evicted is not really because of any impending work in the new year.
Speaking of planning, it is still possible to lodge objections against the proposed new houses on the site of the existing houses. The officer dealing with the case is currently on leave and so the consultation period has apparently not been closed. If you've not yet written and especially if your address is one in Towerhamlets, then please write a letter perhaps objecting to the proposal on the grounds that it involved a demolition inside the conservation zone and the new construction will totally change the character of this piece of east end heritage. You might also mention that the owner is on record as planning to make an application relating to the building next door and therefore the development should be considered as a whole to really understand the visual impact that the changes currently proposed might have.
As well as providing your name and address, you need to clearly specify in the subject the application number PA/07/02707 and the fact that the letter is for OBJECTION (eg. subject : Objection to Application PA/07/02707 - 7-11a Rampart Street)
All the objection letter can be sent to Benson Olaseni, who will circulate the letter to Simon Ryan the case officer.
Here is the email :
benson.olaseni@towerhamlets.gov.uk You might be interested to know that the solicitors working for the owner in their claim to have us evicted are Brecher Solicitors who are at Heron Place, 3 George Street, London (
admin@brecher.co.uk, 02075631000) and give that address as the care of address for the co-claimants, the Rampart Trust Company Ltd (owned by Mr Wolfe) and RMO Developments Ltd (owned by Rampart Trust Co. Ltd) While they keep their addresses off the claim, an internet search provides the following info.
RAMPART TRUST CO LIMITED (Registered No. 00394626)
27 NORRICE LEA, LONDON, N2 0RD
Rmo Developments Ltd. (Registration Number: 6183351)
Mowbray House, 58/70 Edgware Way
Edgware Middlesex HA8 8DJ
A little over a year ago, a property company sent somebody called Richard Selby to visit the buildings with Mr Wolfe, the beneficiary of the Rampart Trust - apparently to show a financier around for the purposes of a valuation. Coincidentally this Heritage Group (020 8958 0000
info@heritagegroup.co.uk) actually shares the same address as RMO Developments Ltd. The agent acting for the owner in all dealings relating to the proposed developments is Alan Camp Architects ( +44 (0)20 7593 1000
mail@alancamp.com 88 Union Street London SE1 0NW). They've also had the involvement of Miller Property Consultants (17 Hogarth Avenue, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8BE 01277 233 100 / 07957 544 007 advice@millerproperty.co.uk). I'm sure that in some countries there would be hordes of angry direct action anarchist types and cyber hackers causing obstruction and disruption to the evil ones but here things are usually done differently. We are making a call out for the following...
Offers of vans and drivers for transport when we have to move out.
Ideas and offers of storage space for the resources in the rampART
Notification of empties for future new social centres
Mobile phone numbers of those willing to drop everything to come defend the space.
Volunteers for people to reccy and access shortlisted buildings
Mobile numbers of people up for initially holding down a newly opened building.
A signup sheet of those up for helping clean up and fix up such a building.
A list of those people either wanting to act as live in 'care takers' or those up for being on an occupation rota.
email rampart at mutualaid dot org
We are also organising a meeting which aims to breath new life into opening not just one new space to replace the rampART but initiate a london social centres collective which would try to ensure that there are plenty of social centres, preferable throughout London on an ongoing basis.
It will take place 2pm Sunday 6th Jan 08
please pass the word and come along if this interests you.
parting
Comments
Hide the following 9 comments
lame
21.12.2007 01:10
why the fuck aren't you calling on people to resist this?
@@@@@
UK Social centres are like sound systems,often mobile, & need4 unity
21.12.2007 03:44
The states efforts at undermining have included sending crack & heroin into poor areas & squats, we sometimes were able to deal with this.
Also like article says, we don't have the numbers at mo.I think its cos the left,green,anarchist movements in the UK are fragmented,
When Respect, greens or anarchists stumble or get oppressed sadly each separate group seems overjoyed at its rivals problems. Respect & greens even ran against each other in elections.
Fortunately there are many non partisan individuals who do try & help & we sporadically come together a bit to fight nazis, stop war, G8 or climate change. When we do & use use non violent direct action we have been successful against G8 etc.
After & during the second world war the antiwar & workers movements which were massive in US & Europe were split & jingoistically scapegoated & we ended up fighting one other.
Humanity maybe screwed unless greens, anarchists & the left get together & form a working democratic consensus, which we didn't do before the 1st global oil war in 1914 as Rob Newman described it in the "history of Oil".
F::k knows how we make consensus, certainly marxists have to prove they wont attack anarchists or use dictatorship again & greens need to make up for decisions they made in alliances like in Germany that supported "peacekeeping" in Afghanistan & Yugoslavia & admit the majority of them were conned by media& government lies
Anyway long live Ramparts 1 & especially the people that made it
Anarcho-Syndicalist
seriously,
21.12.2007 09:04
yeah, get the stuff out, that's sensible, but resistance to eviction is an important element in any squatted social centre. if not, then why bother squatting in the first place? why not just rent somewhere?
tom
Asing questions on indymedia
21.12.2007 14:31
open forum
re: UK Social centres are like sound systems,often mobile, & need4 unity
21.12.2007 16:36
From my point of view, diversity is what we should stick with - sure we can come together around some things some times, but diversity is what keeps life going. I would not want to spend my time sat in a room trying to come to a pointless 'democratic' consensus, when there's the rest of the 60 million people on this island to do it with too! So your 'fragmented' ain't a problem.
You refer to the greens just as a political party, which is just daft. One of the labels I sometimes accept is green, but I'm not interested in parliamentary politics, & thus rivalry/co-operation with Respect. But hold on, I'm a green and an anarchist, so I better start fighting myself. And you say greens have to make up for things they did in Germany, er, hold on, do I really need to explain the nonsense of that statement!
Whatever. I'm outta here, do some praying to a tree or some geeza on a cross or something else perhaps
err
indymedia comments
22.12.2007 02:53
suck
Important news, why not promoted
22.12.2007 10:24
?
terrible news
22.12.2007 23:19
what now
Sorry state of London
26.12.2007 16:26
London has barely any visible signs of autonomous spaces while in Italy and Spain cities much smaller than London have dozens of such spaces.
Of course London is culturally very different and with much less unity and co-operation in radical circles. As the longest running squatted social centre in London is set to bite the dust there is very little sign of stirring London activists comfortable apathy.
cravb