Derelict: the boarded-up frontage of the Dr Johnson pub in Barkingside
Mark Blunden @_MarkBlunden16 May 2014
Squatters have taken over a derelict Grade II-listed pub in a bid to re-open it for the community.
They’re hoping to agree a deal with Spirit Pub Company, which owns The Doctor Johnson pub in Barkingside, north-east London.
Guardians: Gee and his fellow squatters hope to strike a deal with the Spirit Pub Company in a bid to return the Dr Johnson to use by the local community
CASCADE NEWS
Police attended the pub — which has been empty for three years — but they were allowed to stay as it is legal to squat in a commercial property. Squatter ‘Gee’, 41, said he represents a group called Suspenses Property Guardians and is living in the pub with three other men.
He said: “It is a crime that this is unused, the facilities should be used by the community here. We plan on speaking to the owner to strike a deal.”
Local business owners said they welcomed something being done about the pub.
MORE ABOUT