Click for gallery. New Era estate tenants march, 8.11.14, photos Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Tenants serve ‘eviction notice’ on richest Tory MP
Placard, New Era demo, 8.11.14, photo Judy Beishon (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Tenants on the New Era estate in Hoxton, east London, are continuing their battle against plans by the estate’s owners to force them out by increasing rents to ‘market’ levels.
Before US based institutional fund manager Westbrook Partners bought the estate, rents had for decades been kept at an affordable level.
On Saturday 8th November a lively protest march of around 200 people – led by Russell Brand as well as the tenants – went from the New Era estate to the nearby office of the estate’s management company, Benyon Estate. Benyon Estate is the family owned company of Britain’s richest MP, Richard Benyon and his brother Edward Benyon.
New Era estate tenants march, 8.11.14, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Tenants stuck an ‘eviction notice’ on the door of the Benyon office, with tenants’ rep Lyndsey Garrett announcing to the crowd:
“The New Era family issues an eviction notice to the Benyon billionaire brothers, Richard Benyon MP, Edward Benyon, today, Saturday 8th November … The Benyon brothers are hereby notified that they and their big US development backers are evicted from the New Era estate by the families that live here. The continuing attack on ordinary families and communities must stop. Social housing, not social cleansing!”
The demonstration then moved from Richard Benyon’s office along the road to protest outside one of his many homes.
The tenants’ petition now has over 90,000 signatures, it can be signed at:
https://www.change.org/p/new-era-should-not-become-the-end-of-an-era
Judy Beishon
Eviction notice taped to office door of Benyon Estates, 8.11.14, photo by Judy Beishon (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
