Garden protesters’ eviction halted

BY JAMES TWOMEY
james@slpmedia.co.uk

A town hall has been told to wait before evicting protesters from a garden site which will have new houses built on it.

Lewisham council was seeking a full possession order on the Old Tidemill site in Deptford on Friday, where 117 homes are planned to be built.

According to the campaign group Save Tidemill, Save Reginald, the order has been adjourned by a Bromley County Court judge who said the council had not considered the human rights of the protesters.

The council began demolition on one part of the site last month, but has been met with strong resistance by the campaign group, which has been camping at the site since it was announced that homes would be built there.

Campaigner Heather Gilmore said: “We cannot bring back the trees but securing the protest camp will mean our campaign can continue its work by having a place to meet and by continuing to be visible and accessible to members of the local community.

“It is a flagrant denial of our human rights to be thrown off a piece of land we are using to protest against Lewisham council’s disgraceful actions in relation to their deeply unpopular Tidemill plans.

The court adjournment has given the campaign group three to four weeks to prepare a defence for a two-hour hearing.

A Lewisham council spokeswoman said: “This is an ongoing piece of litigation and the matter is currently within the court domain.

“Given this, it would not be appropriate to discuss any of the circumstances, arguments or evidence relating to this individual case.”