Homeless Camp In Manchester Told To Go

The Homeless camp in Manchester City Centre's been told it has to go by Friday.

The Council's been awarded a possession order for the land covering St. Ann's Square and Castlefield.

It means if any of the protesters are not out of St. Ann's square by 7 o'clcok on Friday morning, the bayliffs will move in and the tents could be seized.

Tents first appeared outside the Town Hall in June, they then moved to St. Peter's Square and finally on to St. Ann's Square. But once again, the Council's secured legal action to dismantle camp.

This latest injunction will stop the protestors simply moving onto another part of the city centre.

The council says it's not an attempt to criminalise homelessness - and they'll continue to offer support and accomodation to those who need it.

Cllr Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods, said:

"We have attended court and been awarded an order for possession of land covering St Ann’s Square and Castlefield. We now intend to work with court bailiffs and GMP to regain possession of both sites.

"We have also been granted an injunction that will stop the protesters simply moving to another part of the city centre and causing further disturbance, as they have done in the past.

"However, I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not an attempt to crack down on lawful protests or to criminalise homeless people, as has been claimed in some quarters.

"Like the protesters, we don’t believe anyone should be sleeping rough on the street, which is why we will continue to offer accommodation, as well as help and support, to anyone from the camp who needs it, and we will ensure members of our homelessness team are on site when any action is taken."