The Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council, Mr Gordon Mitchell, came on a tour of Radford district of Nottingham on Monday morning.
While in the area, he, and a couple of councilors, dropped by at the ASBO squatted centre on Burns Street, for a bit of a chat.
Residence of the squat / centre, and a few of their neighbours also dropped by to tell him about the project, and why it needs to be supported and not opposed.
After all, the area does get an active social and community centre for free.
The place had been empty for 7 years, prior to its occupation. It was run down, glass broken and the weather getting in. The garden overgrown, and the house used for prostitution and nasty drug use. Folks put in time and effort and tidied the gaff up, glass fixed, garden dug, rubbish cleared. Residence live in the upper floors, the ground floor being opened to the public to provide community space and activity, arts and crafts workshop, computers and internet, and a bike workshop. Sommat new every week in fact ......
*****
Some collected links on the squats progress.
Nottingham :: Burns St Squatting Project
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2005/08/321108.html
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2005/08/321569.html
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2005/08/321800.html
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2005/10/325852.html
Spray Art at the ASBO - Pictures
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/02/333538.html
ASBO Squat : New Deal for Community [NDC] Magazine Item
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/03/334766.html
http://www.asbocentre.org.uk
Advisory Service for Squatters - Nottingham Squatting Project
http://www.squatter.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=2
some new community initiatives in Nottingham
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2005/10/325483.html
Nottingham Community centres listing [council site]
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/sitemap/leisure_and_culture/community_services/community_centres.htm
*****
Mr Mitchell is also on the Board of Governers of Nottingham Trent University. For you interest, here is is CV.
http://www.ntu.ac.uk/about_ntu/board_of_governors/14445gp.html
For more info on ASBO Centre, 35 Burns Street, Nottingham,
http://asbo.squat.net
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@gn.apc.org
Web: http://tash.gn.apc.org
WAP phone http://wappy.to/tash
My Blog http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com
BroadBand http://tash.dns2go.com
Member of the National Union of Journalists [No: 014345]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
____________________________________________
OS Grid Ref: SK 575414 - Lat/Lon: 52:58:03N, 1:08:38W
Want to get involved?
03.03.2006 14:08
Bear
e-mail: asbo.squat.net
Homepage: http://asbo@squat.net
The Chief Exec ..... with his wig on
05.03.2006 15:43
I guess he does other things as well, like running a city of 300,000 folks.
Tash [again]
e-mail: tash@indymedia.org