In notices plastered outside the cinema, the squatters have asserted their legal rights to occupy it and have threatened to prosecute anyone who forcibly enters, reports Marco Marcelline
Squatters at the shuttered Walthamstow Empire have declared their intention to stay in their new “home”.
Through notices plastered on the front of the building, the squatters have stated their legal rights to staying put. In bold the notice states: “This is a non-residential building, Section 144 [Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012] LASPO does NOT apply.”
Section 144 of the LASPO covers the offence of squatting in a residential building.
The squatters additionally state that “at all times there is at least one person” in the property, and that any entry or attempt to enter into the premises “without their permission is a criminal offence” and anyone using or threatening violence to gain entry into the cinema will be prosecuted.
The notice declares that anyone wanting to get the squatters out of the building “will have to issue a claim for possession in the County Court or in the High Court.”
Meanwhile, a former cinema manager at the Empire Cinema has described her devastation at seeing the state that occupying squatters have left the Walthamstow Empire in.
Sami Iqbal, a manager at the cinema for nearly a decade before its closure on 7th July this year, managed to gain access inside the cinema yesterday afternoon (10th September) at around 1pm.
She said she noted around six squatters sleeping in total across several different auditoriums which all had ripped cinema screens. The cinema had just been the site of a rave that went on well into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Sami also told the Echo that she also saw folders containing personal information on former employees at the cinema lying open on the office floor.
A manager of a neighbouring restaurant chain told the Echo he gained access to a rave held in the cinema on Saturday night.
In video clips that he shared, roughly one hundred people are seen gathered in what used to be the main ticket hall as music is playing.
In photos and videos posted online and shared with the Echo, furniture and objects such as seats are seen ripped and badly damaged. Some objects such as bins are seen inside sinks, and an oven can be spotted in front of a stripped cinema screen.
In one photo, a seat that has been ripped off the floor is seen piled on top of other seats while a ladder can be seen perched on top of a row of seats in an auditorium.
Meanwhile, a different video taken in a bathroom shows a bin in the sink, toilet roll containers on the floor, and cabinet doors under the main sink ripped off their hinges.
There was no sign of any of the occupants when the Echo tried the cinema’s front doors yesterday (10th September).
In a statement, Waltham Forest Council leader Grace Williams said the council was “extremely disappointed that Empire Cinema, the legally responsible leaseholder, has failed to take the necessary action to secure the property allowing this to happen”.
The statement continued: “Since Empire Cinema went into administration, we have been clear that security of the site remains the legal responsibility of the company. We are now working with the police to ensure the property is cleared, and safe.
“We will continue to work to secure a cinema for residents at the site.”
In her weekly newsletter to constituents, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said she was “heartbroken to see [the] destruction” caused by the squatters and ravers. She added: “I know this incident will especially be upsetting to those living above the cinema site and who worked there…at present the priority is to secure the site and prevent further damage or risk to the local residents.
Creasy further stated that she “will continue to work with the local authority and any other interested parties in trying to get this site reopened and cinema restored to our local area.”
Empire Cinemas does not have an operating press office. BDO, Empire Cinema’s administrator, said: “We were not appointed Administrators [sic] over the company that owns the Walthamstow site, Walthamstow Cinema 2 Limited, and consequently are not in a position to comment.”
The director of Walthamstow Cinema 2 Ltd, which is based in Jersey, is Justin Ribbons, also CEO of Empire Cinemas. A notice on the Jersey Government website says two insolvency experts from Begbies Traynor (Jersey) Limited were nominated to be joint liquidators of Walthamstow Cinema 2 Ltd on 7th September. Begbies Traynor (Jersey) Ltd was contacted for comment.
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