Hand-made village near Magna Carta memorial dismantled by bailiffs
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Version 0 of 1. Eco-activists who lost a court battle to use ancient land rights to remain in their woodland village squat near where Magna Carta was sealed 800 years ago have been forced to leave the area by bailiffs who dismantled the three-year-old site. The hand-built homes of 30 people, including a family with young children, are being dismantled with chainsaws, local people said. As the rain fell, teams of bailiffs removed activists who had climbed into oak and sycamore trees or dug themselves into the soil in an effort to stay in the woodland on Coopers Hill, Surrey. Three men are in custody after activists clashed with bailiffs and police. A 22-year-old Essex man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of criminal damage, as was a 24-year-old man from Egham, suspected of a public order offence. Another man is suspected of obstructing a police officer. Related: Runnymede eco-village - in pictures One woman was taken to hospital with minor injuries, which activists said were sustained trying to climb a fence in order to retrieve her belongings. The villagers, who call themselves Diggers after Gerrard Winstanley’s band of 17th-century activists who also fought for public rights to disused land, claimed they had a right to the 25-acre site under laws laid down in Magna Carta, the Forest Charter and in common law. The group constructed the site in 2012, building an off-grid existence they described as “a reaction to the increasingly stressful experience of living in mainstream society and from a desire to reconnect with the land and our ecology.” But the high court rejected their appeal to stay on the site, which is owned by property developers Orchid Runnymede, with Mrs Justice Simler saying that the developer’s rights as landowners were paramount. The woodland where the eco-village had been built is adjacent to the Magna Carta memorial meadow, owned by the National Trust. Peter Phoenix, an activist who had been living at the camp, said he was particularly upset by the destruction of the group’s beloved “longhouse”, a community hub where shared meals were cooked and where residents played music. He said he noticed police and bailiffs enter the site around 8am, claiming none had served him with the proper paperwork, an allegation the landowner denies. “They came with dogs, they’ve taken chainsaws to the houses, and they’ve got climbers who are here to get people out of the trees in the woodland,” he said. “We might have to leave now, but we will never, ever give up. I’ve got used to being pushed out over the last 25 years, but we have to fight for these rights, because people have fewer and fewer rights in this country now.” Phoenix claimed people had been prevented from returning to collect their possessions, including a mother with young children. He said there were no immediate plans to return to the site, but the activists would regroup and make a new strategy. Squatters are making a stand against police #ecovillage #runnymede pic.twitter.com/qqh27BZQG9 “We’ve got to pick up the pieces and work out a strategy, because this place will soon be fully fenced off and secured,” he said. “But if anyone knows of land we can live on, farm and build our homes, they can get in touch.” Orchid Runnymede said the squatters had been given advanced notice in writing of the eviction, and that the villagers and the structures they built were in breach of the law. The company said in a statement that it was “surprised that having exhausted all legal avenues, the squatters have not taken steps to remove their belongings and leave the site peacefully.” The developers said the eviction was still ongoing and all structures were being dismantled. Though some of the activists claimed on social media that their homes had been set on fire, the landowner vociferously denied any deliberate fires had been started by bailiffs. “Our information is that this action was taken by a member of the squatters themselves,” a spokesman for Orchid Runnymede said. “Such action is not and would never be taken by or on behalf of the landowners for obvious reasons on an area of land where site works are planned in accordance with planning permissions.” Developers are planning a private estate on the land, a care home and units of affordable housing, as well as buildings for student accommodation on the site of the former Brunel University. Surrey police said they attended the woodland while the bailiffs executed the high court eviction order. “This is a civil matter where the landowners and bailiffs have primacy,” a spokesman said. “Police do have a legal duty to assist bailiffs executing an order of the high court.” |