Atherden Road updates

----- Original Message -----
> From: ALLSORTS (allsorts@gn.apc.org)
>
> 27th March
> Atherden Road Update from court and activities this weekend
>
>
> This morning we sat in front of a master in Chancery Division at the Royal
> Courts of Justice who was to decide whether or not to grant Hackney
> Council, immediate possesion of the Atherden Road Community Centre.
>
> After the Hackney council legal team put their feeble (and often untrue)
> arguments forward as to why they should be granted immediate possession it
> was the turn of our barrister, directed from behind by some of the building
> caretakers as to some of the lesser known facts that could prove that the
> council were indeed lying through their teeth.
>
> The master seemed pretty sympathetic as well as being child friendly,
> allowing toddler Joe to run around his desk throughout the hearing.
>
> One of the main arguments for an adjournment of the hearing was to allow
> for the application for a judicial review to be decided upon.  The judge
> was given the main arguments being put forward in the application [see
> other email] and seemed to think that not only did we have a chance but
> that we should be allowed to await that decision before Hackney Council's
> application for a possesion order go any further.
>
> So after estimating that it will take four weeks maximum for a response on
> the application for judicial review the judge will be looking to book us
> back in for another hearing the week of April 23rd!  Hackney Council legal
> team left the court very hurriedly, sadly choosing not to congratulate us
> on our 'win'.
>
> What next?
> So that leaves us a month to push the campaign forward to keep Atherden
> Road community centre open. An open meeting took place tonight to decide
> how best to do that and a continuation of the legal route will be only one
> of the many tools being used to do that.
> Meanwhile the centre is still up and running and getting busier all the time.
>
> This Saturday 31st there will be table tennis, DJ workshop for under 16
> year olds, Samba dancing workshop and the weekly gardening sessions. In the
> evening there is a night of music and comedy with Rhythms of Resistance
> samba band, Mr Social Control, Slamba (Jazz Fission), Jelly Bone (prankster
> rapping), and Megabitch DJs until 2am
>
> waged £4 unemplyed £2
> refugees: free and free food
>
> For full listings for the months event pop by or telephone us on 020 8525
> 0247.
>
> Meanwhile other Hackney centres are under threat from closure, including
> Huddlestone  centre for people with learning difficulties. Primrose Day
> Centre for the elderly is also due to close in two weeks.
>
> There is to be  demonsratation outside the Town Hall this evening (28th) at
> 6pm to oppose the continued threat to Hackney's nurseries and education
> facilities followed by a demonstration on Monday at 10am when IT Net, the
> private company who turned housing benefit payments into a complete
> disaster area, hand back the mess to council in house team.
>
> Elsewhere, more industrial action by council employees is going on and even
> more promised.
> Watch this space for more Hackney updates...
>
>
> http://www.eco-action.org/infoshops