it's like they feel they are entitled to it.
Squatters Turn $19M London Home Into Homeless Shelter
The nearly 200-year-old home was bought by a Russian oligarch in 2014
By Michael Harthorne, Newser Staff Posted Jan 27, 2017 5:45 PM CST |
日志
Homeless squatters face eviction after taking over oligarch's London mansion
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Anal anarchist squatters face eviction after taking over Russian oligarch's swanky £15million London mansion
The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians want to turn the luxurious empty property in Belgravia into a homeless shelter but the courts are set to intervene.
BYCAITLIN MORRISON 18:39, 28 JAN 2017
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/anal-anarchist-squatters-face-eviction-9712579
Squatters who have taken over a £15million mansion owned by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko say they expect to be kicked out after a court hearing on Tuesday.
The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (Anal) has occupied the house in London's upmarket Belgravia since last week, when they entered through an open window.
The squatters want to use the five-storey building in Belgrave Place, which backs onto Eaton Square, as a homeless shelter.
They claimed up to 10 homeless people have been sleeping in the mansion per night and as well as inviting rough sleepers from the area around nearby Victoria station, the group is working with London homeless charities to spread the word about the makeshift shelter.
Squatter Jed Miller, 25, said the group did not know the property belonged to Goncharenko until they gained access on Tuesday January 25, when they searched for the owner online.
He said: "It's freezing cold out at the moment. This space should be re-appropriated and put back into use.
"I think a lot of people will sympathise with what we are doing. Quite a lot of working class people are only one or two pay cheques away from being homeless themselves."
Police were called to the property, which Anal said had been lying empty, after the squatters moved in, but the occupiers said officers had not been back since.
The squatters said a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court that was originally set to take place on February 2 has been moved forward and will now take place on January 31.
They believe the date was changed after the building's owner "threw money at the case", and the group expects the court will find in favour of Goncharenko, who owns another three properties in central London.
Another member of the group, called Paul, said it was aiming to highlight the unfairness of houses like Goncharenko's lying empty while people were forced to sleep outside in freezing conditions.
He said: "I would have thought the mayor would say 'if there are buildings lying empty for years we should find people who will open them up'.
"It's a mark on society if we let people sleep on the streets. It's about time we as a people stood up and said we're not going to take it any more.
(NEWSER) – A group of squatters has seized an empty property on one of Britain's "most expensive and exclusive streets" and turned it into a homeless shelter, the Telegraph reports. According to the Guardian, the five-story, $19 million home was purchased by a Russian oligarch in 2014 but is believed to have sat unused since. The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians, or ANAL, got into the home through an open window on Monday. They say they're currently housing 25 or so people who had been sleeping on the street. The nearly 200-year-old house features a spiral staircase, polished floors, and multiple "hand-carved" fireplaces. The squatters have added a projector for movie nights, portable cookers, and a shop with free clothes.
A recent count found approximately 4,000 people sleeping on the streets of London. Another count found more than 200,000 homes that have been empty for more than half a year. ANAL calls that an "injustice." The group says it researched the home before moving in, discovering it was purchased by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko, who has bought four fancy houses in London over the past three years. One squatter tells the Telegraph they "figured the damage caused to him compared to the gains for the homeless community is nothing." The squatter says the house could mean the difference between life and death for homeless people during freezing winter weather. The Mirror has photos from inside the home prior to its new life as a homeless shelter.
