Impromptu march by residents and supporters of Sweets Way Resists, following the adjournment announcement.
When a giant box arrived at the gate of the occupied Sweets Way social centre on Thursday around 4:30pm, we were all a bit stunned. Inside were a dozen or so copies of a two-finger thick document. These documents were the court papers from Annington Properties Limited, trying to get us removed from our current occupation, via a possession order hearing on Monday, March 23, 10am.
There was a lot to get through, and by the time we realised what was happening, the working day was done. Friday was spent bouncing between advice providers, but none included barristers who were qualified to make an out-of-hours request to the court to have the case delayed, given the lack of preparation time given to us.
Even without that, we went to Barnet County Court this morning, with at least 50 supporters who made the trek up to Barnet, handing out Sweets Way sweets and leaflets, and getting people to sign our petition. The twenty-minute slot we’d been allocated wasn’t nearly enough, but after an hour or so highlighting the complexities of the case, the judge finally agreed to grant us another week to get our arguments together and return next Monday to take on Annington properly.
This is a real win! A week may not seem like long, but the last two weeks have seen:
- Six occupations of homes slated for demolition,
- Two community fun days,
- Countless potluck meals with dozens of different country’s foods included,
- One unsuccessful collective delivery of an open letter to Annington,
- One vocal visit to Barnet Council leader Richard Cornelius’ monthly surgery,
- One sleepover with Russell Brand and the world’s media, and
- Nearly 50,000 signatures on our change.org petition…
…With this in mind, we intend to make the most of the coming week!
We have fought to create a safe space for our community, and we will not give it up quietly, so ‘regeneration’ can carry on, unimpeded. We will continue to shine a light on the social cleansing at the heart of Barnet’s housing policy and Annington’s ‘redevelopment’ plans!
Come join us! It’s usually buzzing here between 4 and 6pm on weekdays, if you feel like popping by at 60 Sweets Way 🙂
And be sure to join the new event page to say you’ll be coming along to the courts again next week to help us fight!
https://www.facebook.com/events/433124830197068/
The judge has adjourned the hearing for another week! Celebrations amongst supporters on a sunny Barnet street! pic.twitter.com/uRHgFnpogB
— Sweets Way Resists (@SweetsWayN20) March 23, 2015
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