Eco-Village Evicted

In the early hours of Wednesday 18th October the Wandsworth Eco-Village in London, an ecologically sustainable land squat that has been going since May this year, could have been mistaken for an army assault course with a full scale invasion underway. Guinness, armed with 150 bailiffs and police, not to mention three patrol boats, stormed the thirteen acres of wasteland from all directions.

Whatever they were tooled up for it looks like they were given the wrong address, as police in full riot gear raced across the ground only to be confronted with someone with a kettle looking for water to make another cup of tea. For the invaders it was a case of procedure, for the inhabitants of the village it was a sad and painful moment that had always loomed nearby.

By late morning the village was cleared of all vehicles and trailers, except one bus that needed a jump start! Most of the people resisting eviction had been plucked from the rooftops of the houses and roundhouse, that they had built, the trees and the jetty, by cherrypickers. Closely following the cherrypickers were the machines of destruction, trashing ruthlessly the structures and razing them to the ground. The destruction continued until not a single blade of grass was visible. Portacabins were placed in areas where lush wildlife thrived only a few hours before and a perimeter fence was set up with razor wire before security guards moved on to defend what now resembles a concentration camp awaiting yet another supermarket, equipped with yuppie flats and massive car park.

For more info on future occupations contact The Land is Ours on: 01865 722016.