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Judge grants city council possession order over square with homeless camp

Manchester City Council can proceed with evictions at a tent encampment in St Peter’s Square, a judge has ruled.

The local authority issued a claim for possession at the end of last year. However, according to the Greater Manchester Law Centre, a judge at an initial hearing decided that the council had not sufficiently demonstrated that it had complied with the rules of service for all defendants.

The local authority was ordered to re-serve documents relating to the claim and to display certain documents clearly in five languages near the encampment.

At a subsequent hearing last week (11 February) the city council argued that St Peter’s Square was not a safe or suitable environment for those experiencing homelessness and that alternative accommodation options were available.

Counsel for Manchester, Kuljit Bhogal KC of Cornerstone Barristers, rejected claims that the statutory duty to house vulnerable individuals had been bypassed. 

Bhogal said support, including accommodation through temporary housing or private landlords, had been offered and that organisations such as Mustard Tree provided additional services, including interpreters and warm spaces for those in need.

His Honour Judge Nigel Bird decided that the encampment’s presence was unlawful and granted possession.

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “We welcome the decision to grant us a possession order for St Peter’s Square to bring the encampment there to an end.

“For many months now there has been a fluctuating number of tents in this public space, occupied by people who are refugees who have been granted the right to remain the country.”

They added: “We want to stress in the strongest possible terms that help is at hand for any Manchester resident facing homelessness. The Council’s homelessness service works hard alongside a fantastic network of voluntary and community sector organisations in the city to deliver that support.   

“In the case of refugees, we have provided advice and support and helped many to help themselves out of homelessness over the last year. 

“But throughout this period we have been clear with those camping in the square that this is not a safe, suitable or sanitary place from which to access this support. Nor does camping in a public space accelerate their homelessness application or gain them any other advantage.”

The spokesperson said the council had had a number of issues in keeping the area safe, secure and clean and delivering services from the nearby town hall extension.    

“During the time the tents have been in place we have tried various different approaches to address this issue, some of which have succeeded in significantly reducing the number of tents in the short term only for them to increase again,” they said.

“However, with many still refusing to leave despite being repeatedly asked to do so – and other options having been exhausted – securing this order was a necessary step.”

Greater Manchester Law Centre, which represented one of the defendants, said that between the hearings of 13 January and 11 February, it made representations on behalf of 18 of the homeless people sleeping in St Peter’s Square to the council. This had led to 15 offers of accommodation, including for the defendant it represented.

It warned thought that many of those still sleeping in the tents were waiting to be assessed by the council’s homeless team, and had nowhere else to sleep while they wait.

The law centre added: “In theory, many (if not all) of those sleeping in the camp have a right to homelessness assistance and should not need to sleep rough. Whether or not that right is conferred in practice is often where GMLC and other legal and advice services have to step in.”

Kuljit Bhogal KC was instructed by Ashley Marks.