After five months of misery, the squatter crisis appears to be over.
Yesterday morning, the hammer finally came down and those living illegally at Ramna had their possessions unceremoniously dumped out the back of the restaurant – stuffed into black bags and piled high in the dumpster in the rundown square behind Putney High Street and Putney Bridge Road.
That wasn’t the only good news. The Lost Society bar also appears to have been cleared of its unwanted guests and Rumble Jungle above Lidl is also squatter-free: whether by bailiff action, landlord pressure, or the squatters simply deciding to cut and run, we’re not sure. But the result is the same: the High Street’s squatter fortresses are finally empty.
Ramna’s reign ends
The Ramna raid was the big win – smashing what had become squatter central since August, when coordinated action against two other sites led the group to break into the empty restaurant as well as the flats above it, and post what have become weirdly familiar legal notices in the windows claiming rights.
They had reckoned without developer Crown Properties, however, sitting on planning permission worth millions for a hotel complex. Just weeks earlier, it had decided to revive a process abandoned years earlier and immediately found itself immersed in a legal battle with an informed and determined squatting group.
The carnage left behind tells the whole story: a dumpster groaning under months of accumulated junk, newspaper slapped across restaurant windows like crime scene tape, and shiny new locks – the first time the real owners have held the keys in months.
They’re not gone yet
It’s not over yet. Before the bailiffs’ had even left the street, three die-hard squatters were already setting up shop in the square behind Ramna, using tarps and a commercial umbrella to create a makeshift shelter and seemingly getting ready to settle in outside.
It was the same back in July when raids on Kashmir restaurant and the Boilermaker bar triggered the same circus – evicted squatters immediately setting up tent cities on Olivette Street. That time, with Olivette Street a very public residential street, the outcry forced action – we will have to wait and see whether the same response arrives in an overgrown, tatty square that the public never sees.
The Lost Society bar also appears cleared out. The legal notice is still up but it is now possible to see inside and the place looks deserted. What is most frustrating about this occupation is that the police had evidence of the squatters breaking in – pictures taking from a resident overlooking the back of the former bar.
In them, a young man was clearly seen drilling into the lock to gain access. In another, the back door was modified with power tools. To even get to the back, the squatters would have had to scale a wall on Norroy Road. But despite all this, the police seemingly failed to act.
Fed-up residents declare war
This coordinated blitz didn’t happen by magic. It’s the result of months of residents and businesses finally saying “enough is enough” and fighting back. Thamesfield councillor Ethan Brooks fired an email missile at Wandsworth Council in August telling them to stop making excuses and use their powers. Meanwhile, Putney BID chief Nicola Grant contacted landlords and pulled them through the 28-day legal eviction process.
And then there was the case of the landlord of Simmons who determinedly turned up at his property, with the police as back-up, walked in and demanded in no uncertain terms that the squatters leave. They did.
For the first time since June, Putney High Street’s commercial heart is squatter-free. It’s a massive result given the organised nature of the squatting groups and how painfully slow the legal system moves when it comes to kicking people out of commercial property.
Chance for revival?
Let’s hope there’s a silver lining in all this. After months of chaos, security and clearance bills paid for by landlords, and a clear indication that something has to change, this could be the moment Putney High Street gets its life back.
The Marks & Spencer renovation is full speed ahead. The hotel plans with shops appear to be moving forward. We have had two new restaurants open within a week (admittedly on Lower and Upper Richmond Road). Perhaps it’s time for Putney to think big again. Hopefully landlords will also consider the fact that it’s better to have a real businesses operating out of their property, even if they’re paying lower rents, than to have people living in them paying nothing, causing damage and claiming rights.
With a new squatter camp digging in just feet away from the High Street, we will soon find out which way this story goes.
