Sheffield Squatted Social Centre Open!

Icon_article Published: October 01, 2009 10:46 by Chef

Tagged as: free_spaces
Neighbourhoods: s10 sheffield

Today a new social centre opened in Sheffield, hurrah!

The last decent social centre we had was Matilda, but that was evicted in summer 2006 by the ironically named 'Yorkshire Forward.'

Since then, we've had a very active branch of the Anarchist Federation engaged in all kinds of social struggles, e.g. our recent resistance against Tesco, a cool paper the Fargate Speaker, but we haven't had a place for folk to get together and agitate until now!

The building being occupied, Pisgah House, is on the same site as the Tapton Experimental Gardens, both of which are owned by the University of Sheffield. In 2007 local residents defeated a planning application by property developers Miller Homes to demolish all of the buildings on the site.

“We’ve established this space for people to openly discuss and learn from each other about issues of social and environmental justice, because there’s a chronic lack of public space in which people can come together and freely and genuinely talk about the things they are concerned about, and take action together to change them. The only real way of addressing the problems of our society is for us all to realise the power we possess when we act co-operatively, and helping people to make that realisation is one of our main goals in setting up this social centre”.

Links:

Link_go SSSC website

Additions

You are not welcome

Comment Published: October 01, 2009 12:08 by Local Resident

As a local resident, one who has friends who live on Comonside, I find it crass your self promotion as being the people who gained the victory over Tesco and now this, I was very active over The Tapton Experimental Gardens and do not remember any involvement from yourself s, there is enough problems with the over population of Students, would it not be better you turned over this space for something more positive than just self indulgence, you are not welcome.

a place for everyone!

Comment Published: October 01, 2009 12:37 by nika

Social centres are a place for everyone. I'm sure your involvement in the new Sheffield social centre would be very welcome.
All of the workshops running in these next two weeks are open and free to attend. A timetable of them can be found at the website http://sheffieldsocialcentre.org.uk/ and there is some interesting stuff.
Maybe you'd like to put on a workshop about how communities can best work together in the area? Or know someone who might like to? This is obviously a really important issue and now seems like a perfect time to talk about it!

Re: You are not welcome

Comment Published: October 03, 2009 18:06 by AFer

For starters, some members of Sheffield Anarchist Federation (to whome I assume you are addressing the commonside-tescos rant) have indeed played an active and constructive part in setting up and running the social centre.

This isn't an "AF" project, it isn't anybody's project, its a collaboration to build a safe, social, anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical, liberated space.

How does some of the people involved also being members of a anarchist organisation that shares all the goals and principals of the social centre collective make it "self indulgence"?

I can not believe that you are suggesting that people leave a squatted social centre for "something more positive".

Something more positive than an empty building?

How about you actually visit the space before passing judgement based on the a minority of those involved?

ReRE: you are not welcome

Comment Published: October 07, 2009 17:13 by sheffield local

Mozaz your dillusional opinions are not welcome, you never get your facts straight and constantly spit on the hard work of others and for what, just to be spiteful. I've never read a post by you that isn't full of stuff you've made up in your head. You're always attacking people you know nothing about and more importantly have done nothing to you. Stop making snide comments. There is a diverse group of people who have given up a lot of time and effort into putting together this social centre and how dare you try to fabricate nonsense against them. What do you ever do other than complain about nothing.