156 West End Lane update

For the past few weeks the Council owned building at 156 West End Lane, has been occupied without the Council’s consent. We have taken court action to remove the trespassers, and will be enforcing the protection order granted by the High Court to evict those occupying the building if they do not leave voluntarily.

We need to the site to be returned to us as soon as possible so we can continue with the planned sale of the building that will provide 73 new affordable homes and in excess of £20million which will be used to invest in much needed new schools and nursery’s, affordable homes and community facilities.

Statement from Councillor Theo Blackwell, Cabinet Member for Finance and Technology:

“We are disappointed that we have had to take legal action and would have preferred to reach an amicable agreement where the squatters left voluntarily, but we are pleased that the judge agreed with us.

“If these professional squatters were as genuinely interested in serving the community as they claim – they would have attempted to discuss the use of the building not illegally break into our building, waste taxpayers money and negotiate through the media. Instead of this circus, what the people of Camden are crying out for at a time of huge government cuts is more homes and money to invest in services we already have in the area.

“We will now give the squatters their final chance to do the right thing and hope that they will return the premises to Camden immediately to prevent further action and cost.”