Squatters force delay of sale plans
SQUATTERS have foiled a landlord’s attempt to auction a lease on a Cardiff building.
The group have been occupying 60 Albany Road in Roath since early October. Until recently the ground floor of the three-storey site was home to estate agent Lily’s.
Now the windowfront displays the words “chwalwch landlordiaid” – Welsh for “destroy landlords”.
At the start of the occupation a banner on the shopfront read “estate agents”, with the word “estate” crossed out and replaced with “no state”, and an anarchist symbol for the “a”. This has since been removed.
Last week a transgender pride flag was displayed, while there have also been posters for evening “squatting workshops”.
One of the symbols painted on the unit appears to be the “wonky arrow” seen earlier this year at a Bristol squat which turned an empty retail unit into a “free shop” and “space of radical learning” called Wonky Arrow Books.
A mass of unopened letters is visible through the glass panel of the Albany Road site’s door.
Stuck to the shopfront is a legal warning from the squatters: “This is NOT a ‘residential building’ within the meaning of Section 144, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 because it was NOT designed or adapted, before the time of our entry, for use as a place to live.”
It continues: “If you attempt entry by violence or by threatening violence we will prosecute you. You may receive a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000... if you want to get us out you will have to issue a claim for possession in the county court or in the high court.”
A 35-year head lease on the building was due to be auctioned last week with a guide price of £120,000, but auctioneer Seel & Co withdrew it because of the squatters.
A Seel & Co spokesman said: “We were going to auction it with them still in there, but I think it will be a lot more desirable once the eviction is secured.
“The vendor is going through the courts and once it’s secured we will list it for auction again. I don’t know the timescale.”
The auction listing read: “The property itself is currently vacant but we are informed that an offer has been accepted for a new lease on the ground-floor retail part of the building at £13,000 per annum for an initial three-year period.”
The listing said the upper floors would be suitable for office space.
Last year a vegetarian kebab restaurant applied to take over the ground floor but withdrew its planning application.
The Echo has approached the building’s owner and the squatters for comment.