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City centre homeless camp cleared by council

Ewan Gawne
BBC News, Manchester
MancStPauli A small van parked in front of the arches at St Peter's Square as council workers throw red tents into a trailer on the back. A man in an umbrella is stood watching the scene. MancStPauli
Council workers threw some abandoned tents into a bin lorry

A homeless camp in Manchester where refugees had been living in tents has been cleared after the city council took legal action to retake the land.

People who lived at the encampment in St Peter's Square were handed plastic bags for their possessions and told to leave the area from about 06:45 GMT.

Abandoned tents were thrown into a bin lorry as part of the eviction.

Manchester City Council said temporary accommodation had been offered "to everyone who we owed a statutory duty" living in the camp.

The camp had mainly been occupied by refugees granted the legal right to remain in the UK, and was pitched along a set of archways near Manchester Town Hall.

MancStPauli A small van is parked in front of the arches at St Peter's Square as council workers throw red tents into a trailer on the back. Three men wearing hoodies and rucksacks are seen watching on. A group of other people surrounded one of the tents MancStPauli
The eviction began at about 06:45 in the rain

The council said there had been "fluctuating numbers" at the camp, where homelessness assessments were carried out for all residents.

Those classed as "vulnerable and in priority need" were offered temporary homes, while others were offered advice and support, the authority added.

It comes after a judge ruled in favour of the council's order and said the refugees were trespassers by law.

Campaigners at the Greater Manchester Law Centre had tried to block the move and claimed the council had not fulfilled its statutory duty to offer help to all staying there.

Two red tents outside Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. A red sleeping bag can be seen hung up on a rail, with a plastic, transparent bag seen containing clothes propped up on a rail fence between the two tents.
Many of the tents were moved by rough sleepers to nearby Mosley Street

Some of the camp residents packed up their tents and belongings and set up again in other parts of the city, including nearby Mosley Road.

The possession order was specific to St Peter's Square, where there had been issues keeping the area "safe, secure and clean", the council said.

'Underlying problem'

The council said it had "consistently stated" that the camp was not a suitable place from which to get or "accelerate" access to support.

The council's statement added: "We remain clear that such encampments anywhere in the city are not in anyone's best interests and are not a suitable place from which to access support.

"We will continue to engage with the people in the tents and monitor the situation."

John Leech, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, said the move was a "waste of time" as the tents had merely been set up again "a few hundred yards away".

He said: "We are not dealing with the underlying problem that we have in relation to people living on the streets.

"In this instance with refugees, all we are doing is moving them from one places to another, and wasting resources frankly."

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