came into force on 1 September, read all about it here. In essence what it means is that squatting in residential properties will now be a criminal rather than a civil offence. Put bluntly, you could go to jail. So an end to squatting then? Not so. The key point is that the offence only relates to residential buildings, squatting in commercial property is not covered by the act. So what have those pesky squatters done? Go past the empty BT offices at 203 High Holborn (a stone's throw from The Pint of Milk Test lair) and you'll find out.
But just to save you the bother I've just been out and this is what it looks like as of 2:45 pm on 16/11/2012...the squatters have been asked to kindly move on and have complied:
But just to save you the bother I've just been out and this is what it looks like as of 2:45 pm on 16/11/2012...the squatters have been asked to kindly move on and have complied:
Perhaps "pesky squatters" wouldn't have to occupy buildings unlawfully if pesky planners fulfilled their role and addressed the housing shortage?