Factory Floored
Bristol 'Factory' Social Center Shut Down
A sad day for the Bristol squat scene as the long-running Factory social centre (see SchNEWS 791) finally bit the dust in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
SchNEWS spoke to one of the squat’s defenders. “I was in bed when there was a loud bang like a firework going off – they used a battering ram to get through the front doors and smashed the windows on all the floors to get in.”
Bailiffs also gained access through the roof. The building was swiftly cleared. Although the bailiffs weren’t wearing ID several privately admitted to being from a firm called Delta.Two arrests were made – both were swiftly released – one a case of mistaken identity.
The Factory was occupied from March 2010 and during that time it provided a dwelling place, a regular people’s kitchen, a film screening venue and a meeting space. The evictors – the PG Group, a Catholic religious charity plan to turn the whole shebang into luxury flats, offices, a cafe, an art gallery and a small health centre.