THE Grow Heathrow squatters have vowed to keep fighting eviction, despite their latest legal setback.
Senior judges at the Court of Appeal told the environmental campaigners on Wednesday last week that they have to leave the contested land, in Vineries Close, Sipson, and lifted a stay on a possession order granted to landowner Imran Malik.
The group had stated that they would take the fight to the Supreme Court if they lost, but the Appeal Court judges have shut off this avenue and Grow Heathrow will now have to explore other options.
The appeal, heard in January, this year was a test case, with judges asked to determine for the first time whether the right to a home and family life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), should apply to private landlords in the same way it does to council landlords and public sector housing associations.
No definitive ruling was made on this argument, however Sir Alan Award, one of the sitting judges, said Article 8 provided the group with a ‘potential defence,’ but this did not prevail over Mr Malik’s right to possession.
Jayesh Kunwardia of Hodge, Jones and Allen, representing Grow Heathrow, said this acknowledgement provided a ‘glimmer of hope’, and was ‘a huge step forward for tenants or squatters facing unreasonable evictions’.
Around 20 people live in tents and dormitory sheds on the site, where they grow vegetables and herbs and lead an energy efficient way of life.
After several appearances at Uxbridge County Court, Mr Malik successfully applied to the Central London County Court last July to have the land returned to him, but in a unprecedented move, Judge Karen Walden-Smith handed the group a lifeline, and granted a stay of eviction and leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
