The national day of protest on November 30 in protest at public sector cuts is likely to cause disruption in central London….
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On November 15 the Planning and Transportation Committee of the City of London Corporation voted to continue with legal action to clear tents from public highways around St Paul’s. The High Court agreed a hearing date for 19 December.<br><br>The decision was taken after hearing legal advice in relation to its Highways Act responsibilities.<br><br>Stuart Fraser, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, said after the meeting: ‘We paused legal action for two weeks for talks with those in the camp on how to shrink the extent of the tents and to set a departure date – but got nowhere. So, sadly, now they have rejected a reasonable offer to let them stay until the New Year, it’s got to be the courts. We’d still like to sort this without court action but from now on we will have to have any talks in parallel with court action – not instead.’<br><br>‘We are getting reports about vulnerable people, cases of late-night drinking and other worrying trends, so it’s time to act. It will clearly take time but we are determined to see this through.<br><br>‘Lawful protesters who stand or walk are a regular part of London. But tents, equipment and now, increasingly, quite a lot of mess, is not what a highway is for and others are losing out. The likely stages are detailed in the Notes to editors but begin today with a letter to the legal firm representing some of those in tents. A notice to tent users is likely to follow on Wednesday.<br><br>Ends<br><br>Notes to editors<br><br> 1. Simplified note of legal steps: Step 1: (today): A letter to the legal firm representing some of those in tents, saying that the legal process was back in motion and asking for the tents and equipment to move.Step 2 (on Wednesday): A notice to those with tents and equipment on the highway near St Paul’s asking them to move these items within 24 hours. Step 3 (if tents and equipment remain): Proceedings will be issued in the High Court. Step 4: Further attempts will be made to reach an agreement, backed up by a consent order, to avoid costly court hearings. Step 5: the Planning and Transportation Committee meets again to take a decision on enforcement action, assuming the City of London Corporation succeeds in the court proceedings. Court action is likely to take weeks and no enforcement action will take place without a further committee debate.
