Thoughts on squatting

My journey to work takes me past a squatted building.

Located at 195 Mare Street, Hackney Central, the building has clearly been well cared for by its current inhabitants.

A number of social events are advertised on a large board, and the pavement outside is kept reasonably tidy - well, it was until some yob smashed the lovely yellow bookcase they put there.

Now, sadly, the squatters are being evicted. A large banner on the top floor reads "You Cannot Evict Our Hearts" which always makes me smile .

A poster on UK Indymedia provides some more detail.

The squatters had a deal with the owner. They would use the front part of the house while the back was redeveloped.

However, the developers ran out of money, and the deal is off.

It's a shame that this will send the end of, among others, the welding workshop, the clown workshop (no experience needed) and the "yummy" garden.

No doubt some people passing down Mare Street would have welcomed the eviction. Getting rid of another crowd of work-dodging, dreadlock-sporting, dope-smoking hippies, they think as they refer to their Quotable Stereotype Handbook.

However, a recent article in the Independent suggests that the truth is more complicated than that.

Many squatters are people with jobs and middle class lifestyles, who have a good understanding of the law and squatting.

I have a lot of sympathy for squatters, of whatever background. There are a ridiculous number of empty properties, in fact there is one in my street. I also see many empty pubs and shops, which could be turned into homes.

If you compare the boarded-up and crumbling Lord Cecil pub on Lower Clapton Road and 195 Mare Street, I think you'll find the former is much more of an eyesore.

However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Property guardians are being signed up to live in empty homes and shops, meaning that someone else has a roof over their head and the property will not deteriorate.

The guardians must have references from their employers and undergo a criminal records check, however, so some people will still have no alternative but to squat.

If properties are abandoned for a certain period of time, like the one in my street appears to be, why not let the squatters be? If they are quiet and clean, what harm are they doing?

Perhaps we could even have designated squats dotted around cities in the UK, where people are not evicted on the understanding they maintain the place and respect others. These squats would be buildings that no-one claims ownership of or are too dilapidated for property guardians.

And, at the risk of sounding like Rick from The Young Ones, the kind of people who have a second house just to store belongings in, as reported in the Independent article, almost deserve to have squatters.