About 30 people have been left homeless from a squat that had transformed a derelict plant nursery in the heart of London into an off-grid, sustainable living hub.
Bailiffs turned up at Rochester Square Gardens in Camden, north London, at about 6am on Monday and started moving people and their possessions out into the street, residents said. One said he had been unable to retrieve his three pianos, and had to leave them behind.
“We didn’t have any notice or letter, they just came at 6 o’clock in the morning,” said the resident, who did not give his name. “They didn’t let me take my stuff. Lots of people are really angry.”
A second resident, who gave his name as “∞just-rob©ofearth”, said: “Whatever the claim of the lawfulness of whatever eviction they have done today, what they have actually done is expelled a native tribe who are outside the English law.”
The resident said the group had been committed to a “freegan” philosophy, and had chosen to become “free men of the land” by rejecting the “corporate law” used to govern the people of the UK “by fraud”.
A post on the Rochester Square Garden Facebook page, published on 10 February, said the occupants had lost a court case “in order to keep Rochester Square Gardens as a space for gardeners, food growers, cookers and lovers, and a space for creative arts, workshops and skill sharing”.
The garden and community was set up three years ago with the aim of promoting “sustainable living, growing organic food, nurturing wildlife [and] cultivating free artistic spaces”, according to its Facebook page.
