Squatted: the signage has gone from the expensively modelled shop front, replaced by eviction notices for the squatters inside
Perhaps this is the start of a people’s fightback against the Croydon Establishment.
A group of squatters calling themselves “Reclaim Croydon” has moved in to the abandoned offices of Brick by Brick in the town centre, to show the high and mighty who control the borough that the people of Croydon have had enough.
“We are occupying this property as a protest against Croydon Council, corrupt property developers, and the conditions they have created for the families, working-class people and homeless people in Croydon,” Reclaim Croydon said in a statement issued last night.
The choice of building to squat is a good one: Brick by Brick, of course, was the council-owned housing company that in five indulgent years managed to borrow £200million from the Town Hall and in all that time built only three council flats, with most of its other developments going for private sale or unaffordable “shared” ownership.
By September 2020, BxB had failed to repay a penny of its loans and had never managed to make a profit, dragging the council into bankruptcy, and inflicting potentially a decade (at least) of misery on the whole borough.
Hi-viz: there remain a few reminders in the BxB offices
Brick by Brick’s offices on George Street epitomised the pomposity and indulgence of the characters who were running the shitshow: Colm Lacey, the ex-council official who adopted the grand title of “founder and managing director” of BxB spent £1million of public money having the commercial premises done up to his satisfaction, with a “showroom” on the ground floor and offices above, with top-of-the-range shower rooms on every floor. No expense was spared.
The bespoke metal signage that used to sit over the expensively designed shop frontage now sits in the corner of one of the former offices. Left lying around, there’s one or two other reminders of Brick by Brick’s brief, but very costly, existence.
Following its financial crash, the council is winding up BxB, and what’s left of its staff were decanted back into Fisher’s Folly earlier this year as they handed the offices back to its owners, the Whitgift Foundation.
The Whitgift Foundation is supposedly a charity, because they run three large fee-paying private schools, as well as a couple of care homes. In reality, they are actually a massive property empire.
Notice to quit: the eviction papers served on the outside of the building
The Whitgift Foundation is the biggest landowner in the borough. They are the people, effectively, who are responsible for the run-down state of Croydon town centre because of their decade-long and disastrous dalliance with Westfield.
And now they want their building back from the Reclaim Croydon squatters. Court notices have been plastered up on the outside of the building, notifying the occupiers that they will be expected in court later this week.
The collective of activists are protesting against what they describe as “the power, greed and corruption” within Croydon Council, and to show solidarity to all the people of Croydon living in sub-standard or overcrowded rented accommodation, slum-like temporary accommodation and those who are street homeless.
They say they are here to show an example to those in power that working class solidarity is not dead. They have received support and solidarity from South Norwood Community Kitchen, South Norwood Tourist Board, Save Central Hill Estate Group and anarchist group Class War.
The eviction hearing will be at Croydon County Court on Altyre Road on Friday, September 15, at 10am.
Reclaim Croydon are asking for support and solidarity with a protest outside the court with banners and placards.
In the Reclaim Croydon statement last night, the squatters draw attention to the often poorly built and badly finished state of many of the Brick by Brick homes – which the private owners and those with expensive share ownership mortgages can now do nothing about because the company is, like the borough, bust.
“As a result of this mismanagement, we have empty, unusable estates, demolished and not suitable for habitation, a lack of community buildings, and a small number of already wealthy developers cutting and running with millions in taxpayers’ money,” the Reclaim Croydon statement said.
Protest: a handful of posters behind the shutters give a hint of the Reclaim Croydon protest
“As a result of their robbery, hundreds and hundreds of people are on the street right now, starving families are forced to pay double Council Tax and community spaces are left to die.
“The people you failed to house are housing themselves here and now!” say the squatters.
They list a set of demands and say that they will not leave the Brick by Brick offices until all of them are met.
These include social housing for all 10 of the people occupying the BxB offices.
“Since Croydon has shut down most of our community spaces and are failing to support our community, we demand an independent building for a community social centre in this area, where the people of Croydon can mobilise, organise and help themselves.”
- Inside Croydon – as seen on TV! – has been delivering local community news since 2010. 3million page views per year in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- If you want real journalism, actually based in the borough, you should consider paying for it. Please sign up today. Click here for more details
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SIXTH successive year in 2022 in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Better an empty property than occupants who aren’t paying a penny, eh Whitgift Foundation? Perfectly understandable though, given the growing gap between income and expenditure (nearly £11.5 million last year), so it’s vital to not give any hope to other potential freeloaders. Just a shame that the forthcoming eviction goes against their charitable objects of “the provision of homes, services or facilities for beneficiaries including the provision of information, advice, guidance, assistance and at home care services”.
I think Inside Croydon needs to do an investigation or thorough piece on the Whitgift Foundation as they have been a thorn in the side of serious retail and property development in Croydon. That organisation has been run in such a ham-fisted and self-serving way for decades and the power they hold over the town centre’s development is ridiculous. It always seems that their plans go opposite to what should happen and the people of Croydon want.
We did. About a decade ago. Nothing changed.
I don’t agree whatsoever with squatters or their aims and never have done. Until now – well done this group for picking a site throughly deserving of the cause.
Taking such actions by people is understandable, it is highlighting the wrong doing by Labour and the incompetent previous council management they are also raising the profile of homelessness. If they are acting within tge law then good luck and they deserve public support for actions. However I take issue that they are given council homes! There are 6,000 in the current waiting list so unless they qualify as a high priority then they should wait their turn.
Just thought, are these squatters local? Or are they the usual suspects? I think we need to know before offering support.
With Brick by Brick’s high design concepts they probably will be appearing in the RIBA’s trade magazine with a middle page spread. Jo Negrini providing a comment about high design squatting in later modernity.
Pehaps it might be a better use of their trust fund to apppoint all ten squatters as volunteer security for the building for a fixed period with 2 months notice and then re-site those ten at other empty properties,
Thereby meeting their fundamental mission at little cost, good publicity, and save money on legal fee’s and stop blocking court time so it is free for more useful matters where need is greater.
In the first instance it may seem like rewarding poor behaviours – but is it?
A better use of empty places so that temporary accomodation for real homeless people can be easily set up and managed.
Come on Whitgift – Three venues providing expensive education to thousands should be able to get all those young minds and ex pupils to come up with a viable way forward – Or was that just a waste of parents money?
Heros not squatters. It’s good that there is a direct action protest against the corrupt developers and planners. The real squatters are Kerswell and Cheesborough still taking their six-figure salaries while we pay for their incompetence. Just as we did for Negroni, Scott and their cronies. Go Reclaim Croydon.
They should take over the Allders as well and St George’s Walk too. And any former retail shop that’s unused. Give the council something proper to worry about.
The irony counter is clicking wildly here….
Top work.
I think it’s disgustingly deplorable that croydon council treat it’s residents so badly. They are corrupt criminal who have abused their position and have made many suffer. Whoever is responsible for this should be brought to justice and should be dealt with swiftly and adequately. They lose the publics trust and should be named and shamed.
It’s very true. How soon before some Concillors and Officers complicit in the bankruptcy of LB Croydon are bought to justice for their outrageous mismanagement of Borough finances