Squat Group take over another city building
AGROUP of squatters has taken over another city centre property – four doors away from another occupied property.
Last week, squatters at 40 High Street, next to the entrance to St Nicholas Market, were told by the courts to vacate the councilowned property by the end of the month.
And now huge pro-Palestine banners have been unfurled at 45 High Street, but it is not clear at this stage whether the property has been taken over by the same group of people.
This comes after a series of protests being held in Bristol over the weekend – including one to show solidarity with Palestine which saw around 500 people march through the city.
A sign outside the property indicates it is to let and is listed with estate agent Burston Cook.
The listing indicates the whole Grade-II listed property is currently available for letting.
Squatters also unfolded huge banners – with one reading ‘Criminalising shelter is state violence’ – from nearby 40 High Street at the beginning of May, on the same day Kill the Bill protesters stopped traffic as they marched through the city.
This appeared to be a reference to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill proposed by the Government which has been at the centre of the Kill the Bill movement, with several protests against the bill being held in Bristol so far.
Under the government proposals trespass would become a criminal offence – rather than being a civil matter – in order to tackle unauthorised encampments, giving police the power to seize vehicles and arrest people who refuse to move.
In March, the eviction of a group of squatters who were occupying a prominent building on Gloucester Road ended with three people being arrested by police.
Tensions ran high during the eviction as crowds clashed with police and protesters blocked Gloucester Road.
At the time, a group of around 100 people turned up to support squatters who had been living in the former Randstad office, on the junction of Longmead Avenue, for up to three months.