Group ‘guarding’ derelict cinema told to leave

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Two defendants, Dean and Alex, who did not give their surnames, told a hearing at Taunton County Court on Wednesday that between 15 and 20 people were in the Bridgwater building "at any one time".

The occupiers moved into the property, which has been vacant since 2022, in March and Dean, 57, said they had been completing repairs and helping to deter anti-social behaviour.

Making the eviction order requested by the owner, Orlieu Solutions Limited, the judge said "no one else has the right to occupy other than the claimant". The owner declined to comment.

The ruling means that if the group refuses to leave, bailiffs can intervene and physically remove them.

Though squatting in residential buildings is a criminal offence, police cannot take action against squatters in non-residential buildings unless they commit a crime.

The last companies to operate in the Art Deco building before its closure were Scott Cinemas and Mecca Bingo.

In June, Somerset Council gave the current owner a formal notice to make the site safe.

At the time, the council said: "We have made a number of attempts to contact the owner, but have not yet received a response."

Dean and his fellow occupiers claimed that work was not completed, and any emergency renovations were carried out by themselves.

Bridgwater History and Civic Society, which supports the occupiers, sent a letter to the court ahead of the hearing.

In it, member Rodney Coate said: "It would be a great shame, and a historic loss to the town, if an eviction order is granted today, with the almost certain result that, without the current responsible occupier, vandals will enter the building and set fire to it."

He added that the occupier "is not a homeless person" but "has decided to take on the role of interim caretaker to try and save the building so that a future restoration and community use can be considered".

However, the judge said: "I have no choice but to give the possession order to the claimants."

Following the hearing, Dean told the BBC: "We just wanted to protect the space because we could see by all the bricked-up windows that nobody was looking after it.

"There's not much of that kind of thing left anymore, so I think some of it should be preserved so that people can see our heritage and history."

He added: "Our plan is to resist the eviction peacefully and see if that gives us a bit more time to get it registered as an Asset of Community Value, to bring more awareness to the building and gather support."

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