The Leeds Community Project has occupied experimental gardens owned by Leeds University and due to be sold for private investment and housing
RESISTANCE IS FERTILE
Background
The former University of Leeds research site at Grosvenor Mount is a unique space containing seven glasshouses. The site holds many future possibilities for sustainable food growing and can be
envisioned as a space for education and social events, as well as a space for nature and wildlife.
The site was closed in 2011. Since then, attempts to communicate with Leeds University to prevent the sale for private investment and to open the space for community benefit have not been listened to. For this reason, two months ago the site was occupied by LCP, which has been maintaining it since and putting it to many very valuable uses - engaging members of the wider community by holding arts events, workshops, exhibitions, acoustic concerts, meetings, and preparing some of the greenhouses for food growing.
LCP believes that:
In a city that had a recorded 4,747 longterm empty homes in 2014, more private housing is not what Leeds needs
The University should not be guided simply by profit! This unique site is planned to be sold for only £600,000 – a minor percentage of the University’s annual revenue – instead of being used for
the benefit of communities within Leeds
Leed’s communities and interested groups should be consulted on the future of the site to ensure that it is used in a way which serves the interests of the wider community
We believe LCP fits in with many struggles across the UK, including:
Struggles that campaign for access to land, more community spaces and support sustainability (such as Reclaim the fields and Grow Heathrow)
Student protests campaigning for more democratic universities
The Occupy movement
What you can do
1. Get to the site on the 12th April at midday for our Solidarity Sunday event. We will be holding a day of talks, workshops, and arts as well as making resistance plans for 13th April at 13.00 (the time and date scheduled for eviction).
Info here: http://leedscp.noblogs.org/files/2015/04/poster.jpg
2. Contribute something that is on our wish list:
Cameras/recording devices
Food donations for the day
Hammocks
Legal Observers
People!
3. Spread the word about Leeds Community Project! Encourage your friends & comrades to visit our social media and post/tweet statements of support:
Website: www.leedscp.noblogs.org
Facebook: Leeds CP
Twitter: @Leedscp (hashtag #LCPlive for the day of the eviction)
5. Sign the petition at: https://www.change.org/p/theuniversityofleeds6grosvenormountfor
thecommunity?source_location=petition_footer&algorithm=promoted
Information for people coming
If you cannot make it to the Sunday event but would still like to come down, please contact the site phone (07951355293) and we can make arrangements
Bring sensible clothes, sleeping stuff and tents
If you need financial support to be able to visit please email leedscp [at] riseup [dot] net we really appreciate all visitors & will do our best to cover your costs if needed or think about other alternatives to get you to the site
We value anyone who is wanting to show solidarity. We work via consensus as a group and we plan to organise collectively this way on the day of eviction
Source (pdf)
