On Saturday 7th February 2015, the Earl's Court Area Action Group protest "Tearing the Heart Out of London" took place at various locations down the Lillie Road. It was great to see so many residents take part and to have the support of the local Piccadilly and District West RMT branch who came along with their banner. We had children there with their parents as well as dogs bringing their owners. The atmosphere was happy and there was lots of singing and chanting.
We assembled outside Earls Court 1, opposite West Brompton tube station at 11am. Our protest was filmed by ITV London News and we made their 5pm news bulletin later that day. Artist Duggie Fields who has lived in Earl's Court for over 40 years was shown on ITV speaking passionately about the importance of the Exhibition Centre and Linda Sanders from the West Kensington estate spoke about the problems tenants can have when they move from their homes and are faced with different tenancy agreements which means they may not be able to remain in their new accommodation.
We also welcomed John Rogers of the Trews Report and a reporter from university student radio.
At the Capco Lillie Square showroom, which was closed when usually it is open on a Saturday, a resident of Earl's Court and a resident of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates served an eviction notice on Capco. Protesters held up sheets of paper making up the phrase "Hall of Shame". Then when they turned the papers around you saw pictures of all those implicated in the Earl's Court "Masterplan".
We staged a die-in in Empress Place, opposite the Capco showroom, to highlight the concerns ECAAG has concerning the asbestos in Earls Court 1, as well as poorer air quality, noise, vibration and dust arising from the demolitions. Some supporters were dressed in "hazard" suits and wore face masks.
Our protest then ended outside the Lillie Bridge depot which is also up for demolition as part of the "Masterplan". It is a centre of manufacturing excellence and houses safety teams for London Underground.
We retired to The Bolton pub in Earl's Court (formerly O'Neill's) to warm up!
Many thanks to all who attended on the day and/or helped in publicising and organising the protest.
More pictures are under the tab ECAAG Protest on this website.
We assembled outside Earls Court 1, opposite West Brompton tube station at 11am. Our protest was filmed by ITV London News and we made their 5pm news bulletin later that day. Artist Duggie Fields who has lived in Earl's Court for over 40 years was shown on ITV speaking passionately about the importance of the Exhibition Centre and Linda Sanders from the West Kensington estate spoke about the problems tenants can have when they move from their homes and are faced with different tenancy agreements which means they may not be able to remain in their new accommodation.
We also welcomed John Rogers of the Trews Report and a reporter from university student radio.
At the Capco Lillie Square showroom, which was closed when usually it is open on a Saturday, a resident of Earl's Court and a resident of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates served an eviction notice on Capco. Protesters held up sheets of paper making up the phrase "Hall of Shame". Then when they turned the papers around you saw pictures of all those implicated in the Earl's Court "Masterplan".
We staged a die-in in Empress Place, opposite the Capco showroom, to highlight the concerns ECAAG has concerning the asbestos in Earls Court 1, as well as poorer air quality, noise, vibration and dust arising from the demolitions. Some supporters were dressed in "hazard" suits and wore face masks.
Our protest then ended outside the Lillie Bridge depot which is also up for demolition as part of the "Masterplan". It is a centre of manufacturing excellence and houses safety teams for London Underground.
We retired to The Bolton pub in Earl's Court (formerly O'Neill's) to warm up!
Many thanks to all who attended on the day and/or helped in publicising and organising the protest.
More pictures are under the tab ECAAG Protest on this website.
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