Our special reporter is somehow part of the alternative scene and underground contemporary culture herself. So she obviously can meet a big diversity of people involved in what is our interest here đ
She is been to an open music night called “Sunday Sound”. It is a nomad open mic and this night it was settled between the abandoned huge Heygate estates buildings. She said this night was wonderful and the place very original.
This picture shows exactly the place where the night was performed:
Check this link out if you like to know more about the story of this abandoned estate which has been sold now to developers:
There is an autonomous garden there with loads of place, and the stage was placed between the four big trees outside. Very magical!
That night, our reporter met Dory.
Dory is a former mortgage broker turned stand up comedian. She’s passionate about property development, design and architecture. On her third visit to London she met some squatters who hosted her for three weeks. It was there she wrote The Alternative to Squatting; A Property Development Proposal.
She feels the housing crisis can be solved and that there are enough empty buildings in London to house everyone.
She’s been in three documentary films on the subject of squatting. The most recent one will air on iTV in mid September
Our reporter and her exchanged ideas, thoughts, good feelings and agreed on sharing those ideas on a radio show right here with you guys đ
Here is more link and quotes about this Anti Squat Law in the UK:
The amendment states that making squatting in residential building a criminal offence will âend the misery of home-owners whose properties have been preyed on by squattersâ. However strong legislation already exists to protect residents from having their home squatted. Last month 160 leading legal figures wrote an open letter which was published in The Guardian explaining that under Section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 it is already a criminal offence to squat someoneâs home. 2
SQUASH spokesperson Paul Reynolds, said:
â The governent is ignoring the results of its own consultation which shows that the criminalisation of squatting in empty residential properties will do nothing to protect residents who are already protected by strong legislation. This amendment will criminalise the homeless in the middle of a housing crisis who use squatting as the last remaining option to keep a roof over their heads.â
John Mcdonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington said:
âBy trying to sneak this amendment through the back door the government are attempting to bypass democracy. There were over 2,200 responses to the consultation on squatting so there is no way the government could have acknowledged all the evidenceâ.
- http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/dealing-with-squatters.htm
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/sep/25/squatting-law-media-politicians
http://squashcampaign.org/ SQUASH were founded in the early 90âČs; the last time the Tories tried to criminalise squatting. SQUASH re-formed in the face of the latest threat to squatting. There are 700,000 empty properties across the UK: From 2009 Empty Homes Figures: http://www.emptyhomes.com/usefulresources/stats/statistics.html A new report done by Crisis highlights the link between squatting and homelessness: http://www.crisis.org.uk/publications-search.php?fullitem=327 Photos can be used from the SQUASH Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/squashmedia/
Click later on the link at the bottom of this post to download the show.If the link is not working, just leave us a quick email we will forward it to you!
The usual independent wicked music will be heard.
Here is a taste:
Alternative Maniax 