Tidemill Gardens Eviction – The People’s Democratic Republic of Roundabout

Tidemill Gardens eviction Deptford 29.10.18
(no erections allowed at the camp)

The People’s Democratic Republic of Roundabout

On the 29th October around 175 bailiffs with police stormed into Tidemill community gardens and forcibly removed the protesters occupying the community gardens.There has been private security in place 24/7 since the eviction numbering up to 50 at certain times and estimates on cost is £35,000 a day with Lewisham council already spending £1 million to secure the old school site since 2016 , for this development to go ahead Lewisham council have had to get into bed with Peabody housing association who are in bed with Sherrygreen Homes who are in turn sleeping with Mulally , the architects are Pollard Thomas Evans and the security guards are County enforcement. At the New Cross Assembly meeting the Mayor of Lewisham Damien Egan was asked about Tidemill gardens to which he said he inherited the problem and had only been in the job for 5 months but had previously been housing minister for the last 4 years.

This series of pictures and sound starts with the last days of the garden been used by the community, shows the eviction and demonstrations after to the continuation of protest against Lewisham council and Peabody to ideas created around the after effects of been forced out from legal occupation to illegal occupation to resistance to the idea of a Peoples Democratic Republic of Roundabout, also posts on social media on the day of the eviction. When people come together through force or common belief of right and wrong, ideas are born and created, the more the merrier, an idea passed around different people will always come back transformed. How as a society not listened to can we work together, what can we hope for to come out of the save Reginald house save Tidemill campaign.

1. The title (part 1) The Peoples Democratic Republic of Roundabout is a joke, is it ? Where is the joke? Lewisham council? Been a resident of Deptford High St for the last 12 years I think so yes and no , there not a funny joke , so a bad joke then, but still a joke , so is the Peoples Democratic Republic of Roundabout a joke then ? Tommy thinks so and he thought of the idea on the day after the violent evictions by County Enforcement security and the police , the next night there was a protest on the roundabout in between the Birds Nest pub and Tidemill gardens , the people driving past , some were showing support tooting their horns or not , to protesters with banners, one driver shouted at me to ‘ get a job ‘ I agree , if I could define what a job is. Tommy comes over with a clipboard asking people to sign up to the People’s Democratic Republic of Roundabout and we did gladly, the best sign up put their postcode as roundabout and the Republic was born. As Tommy said the reasoning behind it is ‘ There is no real reasoning behind it, it was to amuse or make humorous to the people who faced the bailiffs and nasty police man’ but could it ever become a Republic like Frestonia tried in Notting Hill in the 1970’s which in turn became a Co-Op which is no joke , I have lived in a Co-Op in South East London for 16 years how else could I have spent my entire life in and around London ? Without selling magical cures / ills on the street or getting a job as the man in the 4 x 4 told me so loudly, just for the record I have had plenty of job. Tommy responded saying ‘ The Republic lives on in the minds of the people who know about it , it may not exist as a physical entity but it will always be there as a sign of resistance and rebellion’ there you have it from the horses mouth, a joke with meaning , not a pointless joke or a bad joke , but a joke with potential to transform into an entirely different entity.

2.The title ( part 2 ), after the eviction , people staying in Tidemill gardens were allowed to stay on a piece of land next to the evicted garden temporarily as this area will be eventually a part of the development , I asked Roger ‘ What happened to all the tents’ ‘a lady from security came over and said ‘no erections allowed at the camp’  

3. build up / dismantling of London, Boris Johnson upon leaving mayor of London job overrides local councils to rubber stamp most development sites on the table in London, this includes Conveys Wharf in Deptford his parting gift to the elite developers of London, there is little chance of reversal but to show one’s disapproval of horror show politicians there is a new focus for the local community been pulled apart by outside forces. What comes out of it is a coming together of people constantly forgotten as the old London, and who cant pay enough for the future vision of high social rents and £500, 000 1 bed flats. Deptford has historically been pulled apart time and again, putting community and family apart from slum clearance through to todays evictions. The same approach never happened to Greenwich , their housing stock remained and people were not forcibly house purchased by the council for next to nothing ,Greenwich is deemed worthy of protection the same has never been the case for Deptford. So like Conveys Wharf which Boris Johnson overrode the Lewisham council , the development goes ahead with no consideration for the Deptford heritage of the site. Conveys Wharf housed the Henry VIII’s naval shipyard also the land of John Evelyn’s manor house and extensive gardens instead a plan for 3,500 homes including a 40 story tower block and nothing regarding the past of the site with minimal social housing at increased rents. The same for Tidemill then ! why not replicate the monster Convoy’s Wharf and do what you the council / developer want to do without recourse , maybe at worst you will get a few protesters who you can quickly demonise as been undesirables or violent when in fact you perpetrate the violent eviction of Tidemill gardens with private security and bailiffs , because most people wont really care and you probably will not loose the vote next election , your promise of 117 flats by Peabody at London affordable rent which is 63% higher than Lewisham councils existing rents should be enough to make people forget the community gardens which was landscaped by local people over the years and used to adjourn the local school , most of the people moving in to Deptford will have no idea or care about these green spaces disappearing in fact a lot of the protesters opposing tidemill gardens will probably not be living in Deptford come re election time for Damien Egan and Joe Dromey. So There is no sense in turning back, a political u turn is like political suicide.

4. The only positive is resistance, to the heavy handiness of the private security backed by the police who illegaly evict the occupiers of Tidemill while the local opposers become more outraged and create through justifiable anger at local politicians, ideas ard actions are realised and people marginalised, in a fragmented society the one’s heard are the one’s who fight. What can come out of people coming together to voice their disapproval , reaction, what can come out of that, resistance , violence ? Or a conversation, about ways of people coming together supporting each other , we are constantly divided by class , sex, sexuality, race, political allegiance, judging others rather than communicating, we are in essence the same, but have a myriad of different reasons for our existence and reason to be or not. Only the minority around the world of psychotic megalomaniacs destroy the structure and culture and these people have never been a part of society, these elite rule and look down upon what is society and structure and they can never be a part of that , no wonder there hate kills and maims and destroys so many, their jealousy and ignorance is shocking.

5. To develop a site which is controversial is gold for councillors and mayor’s as other M.P’s say oh well done on the Tidemill development / Convoys Wharf development you managed to move all those squatters and develop that site for Peabody housing Association / Sherrygreen Homes with minimal social housing at increased rent , the only winners are the resistance that can dream a new day of fighting developers with collective ideas to Halt / Delay / make an un profitable development, this would not happen if the flats were for purpose but they are not , to be able to develop such overpriced , low quality flats that in 30 years time will be pulled down and put up again for the same reason , money !

6. Below are quotes from social media / things heard on eviction day

Tommy has started the people’s democrats republic of roundabout , anyone can join , we have become very attached to the roundabout after playing tunes there last night for about 4 hours whilst Deptfords traffic was stationary and then moved on , think ! the independent republic of Frestonia and Heathcote Williams in notting hill in 1977 and also passport to pimlico , and if that doesn’t work which it will we could create a housing co-op like Frestonia did Bramleys housing co operative in association with the notting hill housing association , come one come all to the land of The Peoples Democratic Republic of Roundabout in Deptford 2018 a changing landscape but still our landscape

these former occupiers of Tidemill gardens Deptford slept outside last night opposite the birds nest on the public land there which is turning into private land soon , bring some food and tea blankets wood for the fire etc , its cold out there at night

i was asked to talk about what i saw at Save Reginald Save Tidemill yesterday during the evictions, it is been used in local labour forums to counter what Joe Dromey councillor in Lewisham said about the protesters been violent yesterday , which is utter rubbish I witnessed no violence from the protesters, but the heavy handiness of the private security used by Lewisham council shocked me , and i have been on countless demos when I worked as a press photographer and for The Independent newspaper including may day protests that turned violent . There is no recourse for you if you are attacked by private security the state has managed to remove itself of responsibility , the police will tell you they are busy observing. The future is private security and a privatised police force / video Robert Robertson

Tidemill garden eviction up date , it all ended with an old school road block , a lady in roller-skates been driven down the road on the bonnet of a merc at high speed to a soundtrack of jungle and drum and bass not slowed down, and a fire on land which will soon not be public on top of a roundabout which doubles for a great place to play tunes and see the world go by to quickly , get in the way ! its the way !

Tidemill garden deptford update , the 2 protesters are out the trees and so the private security , the repressed failed bouncers go in heavy handed and the police who are present cannot take responsibility as they did not do anything and will not take a complaint because they are watching what happens and basically are just there to arrest people , so its a way of doing what you want without recourse , very clever and cynical and aloof and far away from looking after the people , this government really know how to fuck people in fact they are experts

Deptford has heart , tide mill gardens now come down and get in the way, its the way

Spit guards in action at Tidemill gardens Deptford

No fun in the sun evictions at Tidemill gardens Deptford

the bailiffs are at Tidemill Gardens from 6 o’clock this morning , come down and get in the way

here is me apparently Im the housing officer for The Peoples Democratic Republic of the Roundabout , well here goes what Iam going to do is build a fuck off massive 30 floor tower block with stunning views but no pavement outside and cars hurtling past the entrance door all I have to do is pull off someone in Lewisham Council , only joking stunning apartments suck about as much as they cost / pic Joe Wilkes

It’s growing

It’s here the People’s Democratic Republic of Roundabout

the fence is going up !

‘If the mayor’s car gets dinged up then it’s defo on the news’ a man around the camp fire said this , im not sure of his name.

ben graville 14.11.18


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One Response to Tidemill Gardens Eviction – The People’s Democratic Republic of Roundabout

    1. Watch @ 720p for picture quality

      Comment by ben graville on 17 November, 2018 at 9:19 am

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