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Statement by Circle Community
WE HAVE BEEN ILLEGALLY EVICTED ON TUES 11TH OCT.IN A EARLY
MORNING RAID, WHILE STILL WAITING FOR A HIGH COURT APPEAL. WE
WILL VERY SHORTLY BE POSTING A FULL UPDATE HERE AND THROUGH
ALL THE RELEVANT CHANNELS. BIG THANKS TO ALL THE TRIBE, AND
THE THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS AND CARETAKERS WHO HELPED THIS ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMUNITY PROJECT KEEP RUNNING OVER THE YEAR. YOU CAN TAKE AWAY
THE BUILDING BUT THE FREE SPIRIT LIVES ON.
PRESS RELEASE
Save Georges Theatre
Thanks to everyone for all the support, time, effort, donations,
love and generosity from Circle Community, all the caretakers
and volunteers. All the thousands of people who helped to keep
it running over the year and few months this environmental community
project existed which was run voluntarily on donations.
Looking back over the year it is great to remember how much
we managed to achieve
We provided community space for thousands of people of all races
and cultures, from the local community to all over London and
the world - a true Rainbow blend! Our community centre hosted
international cultural events from many continents.
The Earth Circus helped to facilitate: Brazillian
Capoiera • The Master Drummers of Africa • a Palestinian
Theatre Group • Kogi Indian awareness • London Green
gathering for Peace • Nepal street kids awareness
cabaret • Venezuelan and South American Solidarity
Events • Greek International Arts • Serbian, Belgian,
Spanish, Muslim, Tibetan • and world performers.
Also Resonance Arts Radio nights • IndyMedia
benefit • Gods and Goddesses cabaret, Forest School events.
Many Circus Theatre and Caberet Nights • Rejuvenation &
Community Healing Days • Ceilidhs (Irish Dancing) •
Invisible Circus Tsunami Fundraisers • London International
School of Performing Arts • Cardboard Citizens performance.
A diversity of workshops ranging from Eco Solutions,
Yoga, Reiki, Tai-Chi, Computer & IT, Deejaying &
Sound Engineering, Time Travel, Theatre, Arts and Crafts, kids
and clowning, Circus Skills, Puppet Making & Carnival Arts,
Samba, Conflict Management, Recycling Awareness, Peace not War
events and action.
Conference Facilities with Magic Hat Café
feeding thousands by donation, Free Internet café, Care
in the Community counselling & outreach, Recycling &
Urban Permaculture, Kids space and many other activities. As
well as supporting many direct action campaigns including Mayo
Eire anti-Shell campaign, Anti G8 resistance, 9-11 Truth
Movement, Stop Dsei Arms Trade, Survival International and many
more . We were also a networking hub
Our Friday Night Cabaret hosted hundreds of performers,
being a showcase for old and new talent the open Mic allowing
many new acts and local youth to try out. for many eco projects
and people.
We will be endeavoring to put videos of the best of many of
these events on to our website in the future. We also had requests
to use the space by British Trust for Conservation volunteers,
the National Youth Theatre, the Vagina monologues, Mountview
Academy of Drama, and Muslim groups. We wonder how many of these
groups House on the Rock will be able to accommodate and
whether the censorship clause of the planning agreement will
be honoured.
Many people are lamenting the loss of this amazing multicultural
community venue and questions should be asked why Islington
Council was not more willing to listen to the people - the planning
meeting did appear to be a foregone conclusion.
We have been illegally evicted on Tuesday 11th October 2005
in an early morning raid.
We sped to high court on Tuesday but no judge would face us
on the day.
We were awaiting a high court appeal and due process of law.
We finally had hearing on Thursday, two days after illegal eviction.
Agenda 21 calls for community based learning centres. Many
skills were exchanged, people met, gathered and took community
and environmental action. Many new projects and networks were
created or supported. We provided a welcome drop-in free space,
nowadays so rare in London. We are calling for a public enquiry
into the use of this historic building as a community resource.
We are also asking for a judicial review of the planning
process that ignored the obvious public concerns at the February
planning meeting.
We are calling on all theatrical groups and community campaigners
to put pressure on the relevant authorities. Please contact
English Heritage the press and yourlocal MP, Ken Livingstone,
Councillors and to take direct action. Most important contact
Graham Loveland at the Planning Department, Islington Council,
who has the power to grant an open meeting about this hotly
contested community issue. English Heritage are currently reviewing
changing Grade2 to Grade1 listing, and we are requesting a spot
listing, so that demolition work may not commence until the
full review of the use of this national heritage buildings
listing is complete.
Jeremy Corbyn MP had recently called for an inclusive partnership
panel and an open meeting to determine the use of St.George's
Theatre. We hope this expression of concern by the
local MP will lead to an open meeting and many groups from the
St Georges Forum and others can be included in the inclusive
partnership panel.
We were actually lied to about the court hearing being held on
the next day. Our possessions, we were assured would be respected,
however this was not the case. Our office and vital campaign
information was trashed, personal belongings and centre workshop
and computer equipment dumped into a container in
the yard before we had chance to sort through or organize removal.
Legality of the original sale of the building is in question.
This building, which was saved with GLC and ILEA public funds,
was later tranferred to the Murcell Family private offshore
company. This was one of the issues to be covered in the High
Court case we were awaiting. Also there are questions about
the sources of House on the Rocks' funding. St.Georges was architecturally
based on Shakespeares globe, the Byrom drawings (ancient pre-Greek
and Roman theatre designs - more information from My
Kingdom for a Stage by Joy Hancox. This building is of national
importance and this ancient acoustic knowledge is soon to be
part damaged by House on the Rocks' building works.
The story of St.Georges is by no means over yet.
Check our website www.circlecommunity.org
for further information.
P.S if anyone has an empty building they would like to
give to a good cause get in touch.
U cant kill the spirit
as at 28th October 2005
Circle Community Caretakers
Contact via 07769 791 387
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