The former London headquarters of Century Fox has been occupied by squatters, The Evening Standard reported.
This is the third London case popular with squatters in recent weeks.
Last week, London’s Metropolitan Police was notified of an organisation occupying the Gordon Ramsay restaurant, the York
Police recently evicted 400 squatters from Marco Pierre White’s shuttered restaurant in Leicester Square, the Telegraph reported.
Built in 1937, Twentieth Century House became vacant in 2019 after Disney purchased parent company 21st Century Fox. It avoided demolition in 2020 after an outcry from the British film and music community, according to The Guardian.
The Evening Standard reported that within months developers had dismantled the facility, but now squatters had set up.
The squatters placed a legal sign on the execution façade stating that they can be legally evicted without a court decision, the news outlet reported.
There is growing anger at the burden of living in the world’s major cities, and many of them are struggling to cope with it. Although the motivations of the latter organization are unclear, empty, high-profile buildings are an apparent target for those in emerging asset rentals and prices.
The CEO hired a coordinator for the company who recently took the site of the York restaurant
Part of this group, which calls itself the Camden Art Collective, opened the premises to the public as a café, offering free art and recovery workshops in a bid to highlight the huge wealth disparity in the area.
On Wednesday, the collective issued a statement saying it had left the construction after receiving legal notice, but that it “wished those who remain in the construction the best of luck in their efforts,” suggesting that some squatters remained inside.
Representatives for Ramsay responded to a request for comment but appear to have quietly worked to evict the squatters.
In the UK, this is a simple task, as legal experts explained to BI.
While squatting residential assets became a criminal offense in 2012, doing the same on an advertising construction is a civil matter, and owners will have to engage in a confusing and expensive legal proceeding to remove them.
Residents are divided over the squatters of the Twentieth Century House, the Evening Standard reported.
A nearby officer said their presence was “a headache, a real concern,” adding that they had had trouble urinating and using drugs outside the building.
But others have come out in favor of anyone taking over an empty building in a city as beloved as London.
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