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A group of squatters has checked into Gordon Ramsay’s pub, the York and Albany in Camden, but rumour has it they didn’t make a reservation. And it doesn’t look like they’re checking out anytime soon, either. Sounds like a proper kitchen nightmare.
The group of at least six people, which took over the space sometime last week, has locked itself into Ramsay’s building and is refusing to leave. Soon after moving in, the squatters boarded up the windows, preventing reporters from seeing in, and posted legal warnings onto the building’s windows. Signed ‘the Occupiers,’ the notice read that due to the nature of the building (aka not a residence), they were not able to be civilly prosecuted, and would continue to retain ‘physical possession’ of the property.
According to the Standard, Ramsay called the police on Wednesday to have them removed, to no avail. Due to a legislation change in 2021, squatting in a non-residence is no longer considered a criminal offence, and the constabulary says it can do nothing to remove them. It remains unclear however, why their presence is legal, even if not criminal.
‘Any entry or attempt to enter into these premises without our permission is therefore a criminal offence as any one of us who is in physical possession is opposed to such entry without our permission,’ wrote the occupiers, who added that at least one person would be occupying the property at all times. They’ve also threatened (other) trespassers with legal action in the form of six months imprisonment and/or a £5,000 fine.
Ramsay signed onto a long lease at York and Albany hotel and gastropub in 2015, which it’s currently in the process of swapping tenants. It’s recorded that Ramsay was paying something in the range of £640,000 in yearly rent for the building, which sits smack on the east side of Regents Park. A sweet deal for those squatters, to be sure.
'The Occupiers,' who begin every sentence on the posted notice with ‘THAT,’ wrote ‘That if you want to get us out you will have to issue a claim for possession in the County Court or in the High Court.’
It’s unclear as to what the next steps will be in evicting the gang, but if there’s one thing we know about Gordon Ramsay, it’s that he doesn’t take anything lying down. And he certainly doesn’t like being told what to do, least of all by someone in his own kitchen.
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