Court order issued against art centre squatters

Squatters have been told to vacate a former arts centre in Brentford after a judge granted an interim possession order on 2 July to the property's tenants, Hounslow Arts Trust Limited, which was still operating in the building when it was occupied last month. 

The hearing came after a plea to the squatters urging them to leave the premises and “do what is right for arts and culture” was issued last week by Hounslow Council.

Hounslow Arts Trust, which receives Arts Council England funding as a National Portfolio Organisation and a Creative People and Places partner, shuttered Watermans Arts Centre on 11 April over concerns the building was too expensive to keep open after “major increases” in utility bills. 

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The campaign group Save Our Watermans claims staff at the centre were given 22 days' notice of the closure when the public announcement was made on 20 March.

Following an accidental fire at the building on 5 June, the council says squatters began occupying the former arts centre. Described as artists, many of whom are local, the group has said they aim to "save this vital community space” and “engage and be involved with the people of Hounslow,” according to a statement given to Brentford TV.

The squatters have said that although they would like to fight eviction "to the bitter end", they wish to protect vulnerable people in the group from the "disproportionately detrimental outcome" that an arrest would have.

In a public response to the squatters, Hounslow Council acknowledged “the disappointment many felt about the closure” and said it was committed to delivering on a plan to open a new arts centre for Watermans. However, those opposed to the closure claim there is no clear timeline for when this will happen.

Developers received planning permission four years ago to build 193 apartments on the current site of the arts centre and also provide a mix of housing and a new arts centre with a larger theatre, two cinemas and a gallery on the site of the old police station in Brentford.

However, rising costs have delayed the development, and a council progress report recently suggested that "failure to commence scheme before planning consent expires in April 2024 [is] likely to lead to non-delivery." In May, developer London Green applied to the council for a Lawful Development Certificate to prevent the original planning permission from lapsing.

'Antisocial behaviour'

Addressing the squatters, Hounslow Council said that following the fire, the group “seized the opportunity to unlawfully occupy the building",  barricading themselves inside and disconnecting CCTV cameras.

The statement accuses the occupiers of antisocial behaviour, property damage, and making "false claims" that the building has been allowed to decay.

The council warns that part of the building's roof is considered structurally unsafe and calls the squatters “extremely reckless” for holding an "event” on the premises.

Despite these concerns, the council says one of its priorities in getting the squatters to leave is restarting the process of exploring interim uses for the centre. It calls the occupation “a barrier” to the building being bought back into temporary community use.

“Every day, your unauthorised and unlawful occupation costs this well-respected organisation money and means local people are missing out on opportunities to experience the arts,” the council said.

According to the council, Watermans, which receives annual NPO funding of  £122,917, was in the process of de-rigging the building when the occupation occurred. Since then, it has been unable to access equipment for community arts activities or “effectively run as an organisation”. 

The council says ACE has been supporting Watermans in continuing to provide community programmes, but it is not clear how much the organisation's expected activities will be reduced while it is operating without an arts centre.

In its most recent accounts for the financial year 2022/23 – which were due on 31 March but submitted 119 days late – the trust notes that one of its objectives is to operate “effectively and coherently” as a hybrid organisation in the community, online, and in its venue. 

The accounts also describe plans for an eventual relocation as “medium term”.

A spokesperson for Watermans said that its accounts were late because the organisation "didn't have a working password for the Charity Commission's new IT system, and it took a long time to access one", adding that they were filed as soon as they had access to the system.

In a previous statement, Director of Watermans Jan Lennox said that the organisation will still be delivering Creative People and Places Hounslow and "working all over the borough with local people to put on great cultural events in their local areas". 

ACE told Arts Professional it was unable to comment because of pre-election reporting restrictions.

Arts Professional has contacted the Charity Commission, Hounslow Council and Save our Watermans for comment.