Squatting artists told to get out
Yorkshire Forward plans to turn the building into offices and flats A group of squatters who say they have turned a derelict building into a community arts centre have been ordered by a court to move out.
The group, who call themselves the Matilda Collective, have been using the former Yorkshire Arts Space building on Matilda Street for a year.
But Yorkshire Forward, which owns the building, wants them out.
A judge at Sheffield County Court has ruled in favour of the regional development agency.
‘Useful resource’
Members of the group staged a protest outside the county court, dressed as clowns with placards reading, “Oh no! Where will we go?”.
Mark Cohen, from the Matilda Collective, said: “Whatever is going to happen here, it isn't going to happen for a couple of years, and in that couple of years we can develop quite a useful resource for the local community.”
But a spokeswoman for Yorkshire Forward said there were health and safety issues to consider.
She said: “It would be irresponsible of us as building owners – regardless of what the people inside are trying to do – not to try to make sure that nobody gets hurt or injured in and around this building.”