Squatters behind Hive Dalston hub go for 15 new sites

FORMER squatters who turned a disused Dalston office block into a cultural hub where artists can live and work are in talks to take over 15 more sites across the UK.

Owner Michael Gerrard allowed ReSpace Projects to move into the three-storey building on Kingsland Road rent free while he sought planning permission to turn it into flats.

Thousands of creatives including artists and musicians have used the Hive Dalston in return for donating 16 hours a week towards upkeep of the property. Money raised from exhibits and performances also goes towards utility bills, with Finley Quaye and Maxi Jazz of Faithless among the musicians to have played there.

The group’s initial six-month contract turned into a two-and-a-half-year stay. It will move out on November 19 but the scheme’s success has encouraged other landlords, developers and local authorities to offer empty properties to the not-for-profit company.

Gee Sinha, ReSpace Projects cofounder, said: “There are 80,000 empty buildings in London and around 8,000 homeless people. There is no housing crisis. The only crisis is economic.

“I see ReSpace as the evolution of squatting. It’s not just four or five people who need somewhere to sleep, but what the community needs. The hardest part has been convincing landlords, but we’ve demonstrated the model works.”

ReSpace started out with a budget of just £250 and is staffed entirely by volunteers.

Nine of its 15 proposed projects are in the capital. Those closest to completion are the Craftory, at a community centre next to London City Airport, and Central Assembly, at a shopping centre in Southend.

Mr Sinha said: “Places we’re looking at range from disused tower blocks to fire stations … the main thing is to make them habitable and fire-safe, and that they’re rent-free.”

Developers, landlords, architects, planners and community groups will attend a City Makers’ Meeting at the Hive on November 16. Mr Sinha said: “We’re using what we’ve learnt to train other people. The hope is to make this a nationwide project.”