Background info from Simon Fairlie of The Land Is Ours

THE LAND IS OURS — COMMUNIQUE

Monday 5 January, 3 am

I have received a phone call confirming that 15 squatters have just occupied buildings at the Southern End of the Morlands site between Glastonbury and Street, Somerset. Formerly the site of the Morlands leather works, this is, the largest derelict site in the South West and has remained empty for over 14 years The occupied buildings are scheduled for demolition, commencing today, 5 January.

In 2001, The Land Is Ours planned an occupation of the site, but called it off at the last moment when the SW Regional Development Agency suddenly bought the site, claiming it was going to redevelop it “sustainably”.

In the intervening 8 years, the RDA has done absolutely nothing to the site except demolish over half the buildings , even though most of these were assessed as beng sound and viable by a surveyors report. One of the buildings destroyed was the Hepworth Building, the first vaulted north light building ever erected in the UK. All of these demolitions occurred at short notice after assurances to concerned members of the public that they would not be demolished.

The RDA has also refused to consider at least three local proposals for sustainable redevelopment of the existing buildings, and persistently ignored all representations from the organizations promoting these projects.
It has also refused to consider any request from individuals and small businesses to rent any of the premises.

The RDA announced a week before Christmas,that they would be demolishing the South End the buildings on the 5 January, on the pretext that kids are getting in and might hurt themselves! But you don't demolish tens of thousands of square feet of well built workshops that would cost many millions of pounds to build again, just to save the wages of a night watchman.

It is clear that the RDA's aim is to clear the site so it can sell off oven-ready brownfield sites to its cronies in the development industry. This is typical of the duplicitous behaviour of the Regional Development Agencies which is experienced by nearly everybody who comes into contact with them, and earlier in 2008 was the subject of a Radio 4 documentary.


IF YOU ARE IN THE REGION PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT THE OCCUPATION WHEN IT FACES TO THE DEMOLITION CREW IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

PLEASE SEND THIS COMMUNIQUÉ TO OTHER LISTS AND FRIENDS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH WEST

Simon Fairlie for The Land Is Ours

FOR MORE INFORMATION 01460 249204; chapter7@tlio.org.uk