Chopped Potato : Spring eternal

Or, "Rumble in the bronx."

Back in January, I noted in my Londonist interview that rumours of demolition work on the estate were due to begin in the Spring.

Well, it appears that Spring has now finally arrived.

The following photos show the beginnings of the estate's transformation into a building site, with six council blocks in total due to go under.

First up, equipment installed just today to test the water quality of the ground opposite Caspian House.

The almost redundant flats of Darien House, the next block from Caspian.

The demolition warnings and fences sealing off the grounds to Aden House and Taranto House are a sure sign of activity.

More evidence of the council's intentions for Aden House.

Aden House (where most of the squatter meetings had been held) now forbidden territory, unless you happen to wear a hardhat.

Flores House (three blocks away from our flats) and the dumping ground for worksite equipment (note the stack of fences lain on the grass). Also in this photo, one of the dog patrol vans.

Close up of Flores House, with a few squats still standing.

The mobile office suggests the workmen are in it for the long haul. The demolition of everything is expected to be completed by March 2010.

NB Security doesn't like you taking photos of all this, by the way, and will hightail it after you as you do so (yes, I was hightailed).

Chopped Potato : Court up

July 27th today, the day that the "notice to quit" quits.

What now? According to a council official, who was on site this morning to inspect Darien House (the next block over from ours), eviction papers are due next, with squatters expected to attend court in six weeks' time.

And not just any old court either -- the High Court. As the highest level of court, the choice automatically prevents appeals and protests should the squatters lose in court. It also means that High Court bailiffs will be on their way soon after and they're the type of bailiff who don't mess about. So expect the first week of September to be the end of the estate as we have known it.

And don't expect the council to help rehouse or relocate the squatters they will evict. They won't. Kicked out onto the street the squatters will go.

Other news: estate security was spotted knocking on the doors of squats this morning, to see if any of them were occupied; with the Sitex people in close proximity as these house calls were being made. Their hope: to shut down squats whilst their occupants were out in support of 94 squats in Poplar that were due in court today. Sneaky tactic, but with no success, thanks to the squats here being adequately covered.

Only two empty flats (never used as squats in the first place) were Sitex'd up.

Chopped Potato : Paper trail

Here is that "notice to quit" letter (with our flat number and name of the housing officer blurred out):

Chopped Potato : What is this quit?

Not exactly court papers, but today we (and every other squatter here) received a "notice to quit" letter from the local "authority"/owner.

Addressed to the previous tenants of our flat, the housing officer of the letter states: I know there are trespassers in there -- so vacate the premises soonest please -- and hand over your keys too. Not written as gently as that, but pretty much the gist of it. With a threat attached of course, "Failure to do so"...

And also a date: Monday 27th July. Where our "period of tenancy", according to the owner, is due to expire. Whatever that means. The Advisory Service for Squatters agrees that this letter is nothing but nonsense, don't worry about it they say. So we won't.

But in all honesty -- all of nine months for the local "authority" to figure out there are squatters in this block of flats? Uh huh. Either this time lag is an indication of the complexity of their bureaucracy in getting such matters sorted out or just cause for plain bad eyesight.

Talk to the dog

Since the beginning of the year, the local estate has been patrolled by security guards from Force 1 Security. Their purpose: to stop squatters breaking into new places.

A very specific purpose, that. So watertight that it means that when junkies lurk in the stairwell or attempt to steal waterpipes -- so-called security DO NOTHING.

And when they do do something vis a vis their role on the estate, they're a bit slow getting to it. Hiring bulky Polish guys to run after squatters or step to it with break-ins just doesn't work. But then, whose ever heard of a lithe security guard anyway?

When not limping into action, the guards indulge in the following:

* Sit in their cars all day whilst parked in various lots on the estate. Sometimes they'll park their cars together, like a mini auto-meet.

* Allow their guard dog a very brief respite from being cooped up in the car pen. Yes, their dogs were left in their cars during the recent London heatwave.

Their lack of dog training has meant that guards frequently drag their dogs by the lead, as witnessed by many squatters; one incident reportedly saw a guard force his dog to walk over broken glass! Said dogs aren't really guard dogs either, just playful German shepherds happy to catch sticks and enjoy the breeze. Hired no doubt because they look like mean dogs.

* Sometimes pair the dogs off with each other in a kind of manly "my dog growls louder than yours" type stand-off battle. Probably good for guard manhood or something.

* Test the limits of their personal carbon footprint. ie, park in the parking lot, then drive out. Then reverse park back in. Then drive out, go around the block. Return, park. Drive out. Etc.

* And occasionally look mean, with their jackboots and muzzled canines.

Wow, we feel secure.

Steeling our neighbourhood

To prevent new squatters from taking any of the six empty properties on the first floor, the council has taken the following action..

Yes, they have sealed off access to the entire floor -- with Sitex.

Just when we were starting to miss seeing fresh new Sitex again in our everyday lives.

Look here:

And on the opposite side:

Two unique viewpoints transformed by Sitex into a giant cheese grater.

To stop any attempt from squatters on the second floor to access this floor, the council has also encased part of the gangway with... more Sitex.

Note the black anti-climb paint on the edges of the metal.

They have also brought back the practice of latching Sitex onto the windows that face out into the street, a tactic they haven't used in a long time on this estate (when we arrived, very few of the newer empties were treated this way).

According to Kitchen Sink Neighbour, this renewed tactic was in response to a rumour doing the rounds of squatters who were planning to jump up onto the balconies to open squats and thus evade the dog patrols. Rumours no doubt heard by the security guards and conveyed to Sitex central.

With 24/7 dog patrols and these Sitex barriers, our block of flats is beginning to resemble the set of a TV crime drama. Which is apt, since living here is a drama in and of itself.

Oh ship

Do you remember Polish Husband? Who assisted us with the roof invaders and gave chase to Kitchen Sink Neighbour's attacker? He and his family have been fine neighbours, just friendly to us squatters from the get go.

Have been? Uh, why?

Because of this.

Yes, Sitex. The family have been moved, to temporary premises in east London. USgal noted that the flat smashing of their home took approximately three hours.

The shipping off of the Polish family has been a surprise. We knew they'd go someday, but their departure is a signal to us that the council is active again, with regards to this block. USgal reports that the single mother family on the second floor have also been relocated. We wonder what move will be made next.

Chopped Potato : May day

Playing truant from the squat in recent weeks has meant a plot hole in May. Not to fear... here's a round-up of various incidents this past month.

Phone Tree

A positive outcome of the squatters meet in March has been a phone tree, connecting as many of the 'flat liberators' on the estate as possible.

The 'squatter hotline number' is that of a cellphone belonging to Polishgal who lives two blocks away, whose unlimited and free text messaging enables the rest of us to receive estate news that is sms'd directly to her (and which she distributes). A useful service indeed it is (if vulnerable; if Polishgal departs, so will the phone number).

Recent news has included: warnings about a teenage pervert boy who has been pestering women walking through the estate in the evenings; local Bengali boys stoning a local squat in protest at it being there; and court papers being delivered to nearby squats.

Evictions

The council is at work again, with eviction notices issued to neighbouring squats, but in opposition, so has the squatters' network on the estate. One morning in early May, 30 estate squatters descended on a squat that was in the process of being closed by bailiffs and reopened it in... 12 minutes!... right before the bailiffs' eyes (who obviously cannot do anything to stop it).

The security guards who patrol our estate, and are meant to stop squatters from opening new spots, were apparently, according to eyewitnesses, mortified -- and yet paralysed by what they saw. Local radio station Resident FM later reported this event on one of their shows.

Junkies

What of the junkies who have been terrorising our block (as well as their jugulars and testicles) since last November? Who have haunted the first floor and stairwells, and left syringes and shopping bags full of their faeces for all to see?

Gone, forever. But not easily in their departure. As Kitchen Sink Neighbour recounts:

"Polish Husband's wife had already passed them in the stairwell when I came back home late one Friday, giving her aggro on the way. They had apparently arrived within minutes of the security guards leaving.

As I made my way through them, I asked them kindly if they wouldn't mind taking their needles with them afterwards. They were not pleased. One of them followed me up to the landing, shouting at me about it. When I turned around to ask him kindly again, out of nowhere, he hit me in the face! I started screaming as the man ran off.

Polish Husband had obviously spoken with his wife, because within seconds of my attack, he was out of his flat... he looked at me and then legged down the stairwell and GAVE CHASE to the man, also with the help of the guy in No. 6 who'd also come out of his flat. Both of them rugby tackled the junkie to the ground and held him there until the security guards came.

We haven't seen the junkies since."

Kitchen Sink Neighbour has since made a full recovery.

The gloves are off

Or, in the case of this flat smasher, the gloves were never on in the first place!

Yes, this is your tax dollars at work. What we think are junkies or local kids smashing up bottles in the parking lot turns out to be the council's flat smashers, a team of four chaps this time round, demolishing the contents of a ground-floor flat in the block opposite to ours.

What is most surprising about what this guy is doing is the fact he is wearing his regular clothes to do it -- no protective goggles to shield his eyes from the flying glass, and a BROOM to do the job?! Very technical stuff, obviously.

The guy seems to be enjoying himself too, managing to flash a few grins at local garbage collection men passing by. His entire task lasts 20 minutes tops and there is nothing gentle about it; the net curtains are torn out, the shattering window is swept from the sill onto the grass with this guy's bare hands.

All of which is mesmerising to watch, if a bit disconcerting too. You think I'd be used to a bit of council drama by now, but you never do. It keeps you alert and engaged, if nothing else.

The roof is in the pudding

Here is Lad, a neighbouring squatter, demonstrating earlier how easy it is to access the rooftop hatch from our stairwell.

The hatch is unlocked; anyone can climb up.

We all hope the padlock installed tonight will deter the thieves.

Roof or dare?

In the case of tonight's intruders, it is both.

USgal and me can definitely hear footsteps scampering in the roof tonight -- someone is walking across our ceiling! It is 8pm and somebody has accessed the roof!

Before we can do anything, we can make out a policeman outside our door talking with Kitchen Sink Neighbour. A squad car is already here, having received a 999 call from someone on our floor (the Italian students next door we think).

This is what a police guy says to her:

"Is this one of the blocks that's going to be condemned... there's nobody up there now, there's nothing we can do... Yeah, we can see they accessed the roof, there’s nothing we can do about locking it… Call the council, yeah but if you do it enough times, they'll come and put a lock on it... We hear your concerns, but there's nothing we can do."

Trying to tell the cops about Tuesday's flood damage as a result of stolen water pipes does not budge them from "there's nothing we can do." Wow, we feel so protected.

All this basically confirms Saturday's scrap metal mongers. They’re here and they've accessed the hatch from our stairwell that leads to the electricity power station up in the roof. This is a hatch that the council leaves UNLOCKED, by the way. Does this disturb you? It disturbs us and every neighbour on this floor, bringing them all out on the gangway to investigate.

We decide to padlock the hatch ourselves, when it's pointed out that the thieves don't have tools, that they pull out the pipes with their bare hands. Bare hands can't cut padlock metal, right? The husband of our renting Polish neighbours takes charge of its purchase and attachment, all done in 15 minutes.

"That's what it's all about, safety for everyone" Polish Husband says afterwards, to the look of relief on my face. The padlock's keys will be posted to the council.

Can we exhale yet? N.o.t. y.e.t.

Kitchen Sink Neighbour later makes the observation that although the scrap thieves may not consider their actions to be stealing -- their actions are stealing our right to be here.

After all, tonight's drama is just the latest to test the council's patience with this emptying block of flats. Noisy squatters, 24hr Sitex men, twice-hourly police visits, junkies -- the council must be aware of what is taking place here. The question is: when will they respond?

Not feeling stairwell

The junkie nest may have been boarded up, but the stairwells in our council block are still attracting strangers to loiter.

In tonight's case, from what USgal and me can hear from INSIDE our living room (yes, the voices are that loud!), there is a drunk, rowdy older woman on our stairwell landing crowing away with a group of hooting blokes. It is just after 10.45pm now, and here are these loud strangers in their babble bubble.

Seriously, do these idiots not care that there are people living in this block? That people might be asleep? Do they believe this council block is completely empty?? Does consideration for others/love thy neighbour not mean anything anymore??

Our hearts go out to the residents, all of whom have small kids. USgal is itching to kill these arseholes.

So, why aren't we out there asking them to leave? We're not sure if they're junkies. We fear what they will do if we ask them to go.

And thanks also to our new squat neighbours and their twilight DIY, we’re starting to miss the quiet empty block of last year already.

UPDATE around 1am: It turned out that these people were partying squatters. The rowdy woman had purple hair.

Pipe up

What's that dull thudding noise? Seriously, am I hearing footsteps above the kitchen ceiling?

No way, is that the sound of pipes moving in the airing cupboard? Moving like someone trying to yank them hastily from their fixings?

Oh, it is. It can't be the neighbours below, whom we know are in the midst of big DIY at the mo; the giveaway is from paint flecks falling downwards from the cupboard ceiling as the pipes are tugged.

A couple of "oi, what the fuck do you think you're doing"s stops it all quickly. A shuffle of fleeing footsteps follows.

Yes, live proof that the scrap metal strippers are here.

Extreme skipping

Is this extreme skipping?

Peering down over our gangway balcony, Kitchen Sink Neighbour and us quietly observe a local Russian junkie, trawling meticulously through the council block trash. He is sifting to the point of almost falling in just to scrape the very dirt from the floor of the bins.

What is he looking for?

Scrap metal to sell for cash.

He's not the only one after scrap. Later, Kitchen Sink Neighbour tells us she overheard the junkie pointing out to a family of Roma which flats were empty in our block.

As scrap metal selling is an ordinary way to make a living in Roma culture, the empties here must seem like a goldmine. But of course, their presence represents a danger to our neighbourhood.

After all, making a living is one thing (and we're not condemning their cultural choices); but complete strangers coming onto your estate and stealing metal out of flats is another. Not just that, but the theft of water pipes usually causes the flooding of properties beneath the flat being stripped, as a ground-floor flat here discovered on Tuesday.

The scrap thieves need to know this block of flats is not empty and that they can't come here. Except, who's to know when they will come.

It seems like our council block never seems to catch a break. The junkie squat finally shuts down and within days the baton of trouble has passed to scrap metal strippers. Not a way to start the weekend.

Chopped Potato : Do-gooders?

The first of many monthly estate squatter meetings begins tonight. Somewhere in the region of 40 people turn up in the squatter fashion sense we have all come to know (ie. nothing colourful or mud-free). A member of the local advisory service chairs and you either endure the heavy tobacco smoke in the room as the meeting unfolds, or step outside to breathe and freeze to death in the blistering evening air.

Following a discussion about electricity, the agenda moves swiftly onto efforts to integrate the squatters with the community. Squatter insecurity, however, seems to be prime motivation.

"We don't pay the rent", says one chap to all, "and so we must do something to make the residents feel better about us." The project to kickstart these 'community relations' is squatter-initiated recycling facilities, "we want to show them a positive image". The suggestion of "squatter PR" comes up, which will involve door-to-door interviews with residents to learn what we can do for them. Guerilla gardening and a free shop are other possible projects.

All very well, until the chair makes a comment that blows the entire thing wide open. "The residents are moving soon, they don't care" she says. Startling. If she'd spoken to the residents in advance, she will find that they do care.

Their estate has after all been in redevelopment limbo for 8 years. Not only have they been plagued with multiple regeneration setbacks, they now find their housing estate crawling with squatters, junkies and drug dealers.

They know more about their estate than we do. They don't need to be patronised or told by a bunch of activists that they know better and squatters don't need the excuse to act like do-gooders. But that's exactly what this meeting seems to be doing.

Instead of generating projects with the idealistic intention of saving the community so the residents will accept squatters, surely a simple hello to your neighbours is enough for the moment? Surely treating this community with a bit of respect is a more organic way forward?

They are regular people after all, who surely don't need the misplaced heroics of their insecure squatting neighbours on top of all else. What do you think?

Chopped Potato : Emptied

Astonished that empty council properties are being smashed up and made uninhabitable whilst there are homeless about? Shocked when you witness flat smashing firsthand, the homes of former tenants ripped out and thrown into lorries? My block of flats currently has 13 empties in it, perfectly good flats standing empty.

The Londonist did some research back in June 2008 into the number of empty properties per borough and were astonished by it as much as anyone else. Lambeth at the time had 845, Hackney had 1051 empties in 2007 and Southwark 1300. You can read about what they have to say here. Drop by the Empty Homes Agency site for more intel.

Chopped Potato : Stand by your land

So you're squatting, but where do you stand legally?

This is what the UK law has to say on the matter.

Protection for the occupier

1. Occupation of property without prior consent of the owner, is not a criminal offence, and there is no automatic right for the owner to use violence or threats, to regain entrance or to evict the resident occupier.

2. The Police have no powers over such a civil dispute.

3. The Police are obliged to stop any unlawful eviction that may cause a breach of the peace.

Resources for the displaced occupier ('displaced residential occupier')

Under The Criminal Law Act 1997 as amended and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. You may have the status of ‘a displaced residential occupier’.

As such you may apply to a Justice of the peace or Commissioner for Oaths for an order to allow you to enter the premises to evict. The previous occupiers will then be committing an offence should they not leave at your request. At this point you may ask for Police assistance.

The Police have powers under the above Acts, in order to keep the peace, to arrest any person who fails to comply with an Order obtained by 'a displaced residential occupier'.

Resources for an intended occupier ('protected intending occupier')

Under the above Acts, where you have obtained a contract to occupy the premises but have not yet done so, you may obtain the status of ‘a protected intending occupier’.

Where there is evidence that the intended occupation is not arranged to deprive the present occupiers of their home, you may be granted an order to evict the resident occupiers.

This status does not give you the right to forcibly enter the premises.

"Displaced residential occupier" is the legislation which allows the police to go and evict squatters who squat a non-empty home.

Bricks and stones

We've seen the insides of our council block, now time for the externals.

The following photos were taken during more sunny times at the estate, both weatherwise (it's grim grey now) and neighbourwise. Where you may see open windows in these pictures, we now see Sitex coverings.

Boarded-up flats. Flat no.8, in the second photo, was the Ukrainian squat that was recently seized by the Sitex men during our "front door" spate.

Ground floor row of flats, all totalled.

Flats in the opposite block, few of which have been sealed up. A lot of residents still live here.

Back to our block, this time facing the main road. The Sitex people had previously boarded up front windows as well, a tactic they don't seem to use now.

No sunbathing on these balconies then.

This is us -- the top floor in this picture.

Chopped Potato : Estate of mind

With the police chap the other day acting more excited at the prospect of the estate being demolished than with kicking out a few squatters, I thought it worthwhile to take a look into the story of the estate. Just what is going on here?

It turns out that where we live is quite famous. An eighties soul singer took his stage name from the name of the estate. It also turns out that where we live is part of a much larger sprawling housing estate, consisting of council blocks and terraced houses, and conceived in the 1950s as "the showpiece of modern social housing". Here is a map of the estate (with the street names blurred out):

And it is that estate that is getting all the media coverage.

And not just any old media coverage. The BBC have been at, telling everyone it's a great place to buy heroin in 2001, and updating us all in 2004. The Independent also wants you to know about da drugs. Never mind the thriving community that still lives here, but ho hum. Leave it to a group of artists to report on the sunny side of change in the community.

One of the prominent construction industry journals has also been at it, but this time to report more recent news concerning the future of redevelopment (thanks to much-needed consortium investment pulling out). The local press sadly confirm this.

When former PM Tony Blair visited the estate in 2001, redevelopment was heralded as the saving grace for the estate. Cramped conditions, buildings in disrepair and a hotspot for crime have plagued this community for decades.

The refurbishment of existing homes, the construction of new flats to replace crumbling council blocks and the development of new shopping parades would give the area a much needed morale boost and create an uplifting neighbourhood. But the community has yet to see any of this in the years since.

Whilst a delay in development is of course good news for the squatters here, it is important that we think of the residents we live among. It is these people we need to hope for, not ourselves.

Cat on a squat tin roof

Our new squatter neighbours two doors away discovered the other day that they have access to the roof! And would I like to join them in taking a look? Of course the answer is not no, and with our council block due for demolition at some point in the future, there is a feeling that its secret history must be revealed before then.

A plan is hatched.

Here is the view of their flat from above.

Not a built-in rug... instead, it is asbestos roof insulation. Shame we have neglected to insulate our throats and nostrils from inhaling its dust.

The roof construction looks almost chapel-like; there is scope here in the roof for more people to occupy, once the asbestos has been dealt with.

If you squint hard enough, you may be able to reimagine this window as our own patio door.

What a pleasant view. Such fresh air.

This is a warning notice for any council electricians who find themselves in the loft, as it also happens to house the electricity generators for our entire block.

Oh what's this? We can actually see into the Blair Witch flat. The white shapes are actually the outlines of bottles that once sat on a shelf, the dark grey around them are the result of a fire in the flat.

One of the neighbours jumps down in to the flat, for a look around. Here are some of his pictures -

Living room and suitably ghost-like balcony door.

An unfortunate casualty, no doubt the result of being unable to escape.

Otherwise, despite the fire damage, anti-climb paint destruction, the callous handiwork of the councilmen and solemn atmosphere, the Blair Witch flat is like every other boarded-up apartment on the estate -- in good solid nick and able to house people. The windows are intact and it isn't too cold in here. Not impossible.