Council splashes £10k on evicting baths squatters
COUNCIL bosses spent £10,000 evicting squatters from the former Chorlton Leisure Centre, the M.E.N. can reveal.
The group were turfed out of the council-owned building, on Manchester Road, in November after filling up the swimming pool and bringing the sauna back into use. Bailiffs moved in just after 6am to evict 28 squatters, who were part of a group known as ‘We R,’ along with their dog and several new-born puppies.
A Freedom of Information request has now revealed that the eviction cost the council £10,000 due to the involvement of a specialist team from the sheriff ’s office.
Manchester council says it was a ‘particularly complex’ eviction involving ‘obstructive’ squatters.
The former leisure centre is part of an ongoing consultation into the future of several buildings in central Chorlton. A number of official groups have already come forward with formal plans to bring the centre back into community use.
The building was closed to the public in June 2015 despite a lastditch attempt to run it as a not-forprofit venture.
Armed with brushes and some plumbing know-how the ‘We R’ group moved in for a month in the hope of bringing the site back into public use. During that time they claim to have drained and refilled the disused pool and plumbed the sauna for use by the community.
At the time the squatters told the M.E.N. they had hoped to help young people who have fallen on hard times by claiming the building and had grand plans to build a skate park and start a five-a-side football team.
The average cost for the council to remove a group of squatters, when proceeding with court action, is between £1,500 and £2,000. This price increases if a sheriff is used.
A Manchester council spokesman said: “The squatters in the former Chorlton Baths had broken into and illegally occupied the building. We will be taking detail of proposals for the building’s future use to the council’s executive in July.
“The cost of evicting squatters depends on the complexity of the eviction. This case was particularly complex. It involved obstructive squatters in a large building and required the use of a specialist team from the sheriff’s office trained in safely removing protesters who are refusing to leave and potentially putting themselves at risk in the process of resisting, and security to prevent trespassers reentering the building.
“Help is always available for anyone who is genuinely homeless. In this instance, no one accepted the help offered and they indicated that they had other accommodation options.”
The council hopes to sell off the former leisure centre building for affordable homes built by social landlord Southway, while the Unicorn supermarket is eyeing up the ground floor for a cafe.
Because of the building’s status as an ‘asset of community value,’ any alternative bids from local groups must be taken into account. More than one bid has been received by the town hall.