Councillor calls for eviction of factory residents

The Zig Zag Building has been closed since 1980

A council risks becoming a "laughing stock" if it does not evict people living in a disused factory, a councillor has claimed.

The Zig Zag building in Morland Road, Glastonbury, closed in 1980 and has hosted an off-grid sustainable living project since 2013.

Somerset Council won the legal right to remove people living there in July 2024 but no evictions have taken place. It said it was trying to work with the landowner while keeping enforcement actions on the table.

However, councillor Susannah Hart said without obtaining an eviction the council was "wasting taxpayers' money" and risked becoming "a laughing stock".

"The police have told me they are ready to assist with enforcement, but have not been called upon to do so," she added.

She said the area had become off-putting because of a large number of vans parked outside and a fear of crime nearby.

Council deputy leader Liz Leyshon said the owner of the building, Chris Black, had made some improvements to the site, and the council was working with him and the police to move the situation forward, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

Mr Black allows people to live in the grounds of the building, which he describes as a cultural hub where artists create and exhibit their work.

He said he would not make anyone intentionally homeless earlier this year.

Somerset Council won the right to evict the site's residents in July 2024

Ms Leyshon added the council should allow Mr Black and his son to work on a new planning application for a community facility at the site.

She also planned to meet with councillors at Bristol City Council to "share learning" on "meanwhile sites", which could provide temporary off-road accommodation to "travellers and the wider non-bricks-and-mortar' community."