Andrew Wilson & Co – Protecting Manchester’s Historic Buildings
Aug 30, 2017
Category: News
Our Property Services team is increasingly called upon to meet the growing demand for the removal of trespassers from commercial properties throughout our major cities. We recently enforced the eviction of 40 trespassers from Hotspur House, a historic five-storey building in Manchester city centre.
This large operation caught the attention of the local media who reported live from the scene: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/live-police-evict-squatters-historic-13289800
Hotspur House was previously a cotton mill in Manchester’s industrial heyday and was later used as a printing house up until 2011. Our client, the owner of this 19th century building, was granted a Possession Order by the County Court, but the trespassers did not leave by the specified date and paid no attention to the Order alone.
Whilst the numbers of trespassers continued to grow, the building’s owner contacted our property services team and instructed us to enforce the Order. Acting immediately, consent was acquired to transfer the Order to the High Court for enforcement and a Writ of Possession was issued to Andrew Wilson & Co, authorising us to effect the eviction process.
With so many people living in the building, emotions were running high. Using our relationship with the Greater Manchester Police, we were able to organise a full scale operation to ensure our success. Due to the very nature of the event and our understanding the building’s occupants, members of the council’s homelessness team were on hand to speak with trespassers as they were evicted.
Finally, our Property Services team helped to secure the site to prevent trespassers re-occupying Hotspur House. The building’s future is uncertain but back under control and looking bright with the exciting redevelopment of Manchester’s City Centre.
