Runnymede Eco-Village

by diggers2012

Runnymede Eco-Village is situated in the woodland of the disused former Brunel university Runnymede Campus.   For a map & directions to the site, please click here. 

We are open to visitors everyday between 11 a.m and 5 p.m.  You are also welcome to stay with us, but please look at the Map page first.

We: a group of 15 people, have been living on the Runnymede Campus since June 15th.  From 2007 The 65 acre campus has lain largely unused since being sold to a private property developer by Brunel University.   The developer has been granted planning permission to build ‘luxury homes’, elderly care units and student accommodation on the site ,but the development appears to have stalled. The plan has attracted concern and criticism from local residents (see this local news article from last year).

The area of woodland where we are living has no management plan and is heavily populated by Sycamore and Ash trees.  In places it has been fly-tipped with fridges and other items.

Since our arrival we have established the Runnymede Eco-Village community here.  We’ve built a long house kitchen, geodesic dome communal space and other low impact structures made from the renewable timbers and recycled materials.  We’ve also dug a well (where we draw water from), setup solar panels for producing electricity.  Our food growing is in the early stages but our plan is to become as self sufficient as we can.

We have been evicted from the Runnymede Campus (by the developers) three times .  The last eviction took place on July 12th (watch a video of the eviction here).  Each time we have been evicted we have been forcibly displaced along with our belongings onto National Trust land at Cooper’s Hill Woods (next to the Runnymede Campus).  After each eviction, we have returned back onto the Runnymede Campus.

Whilst the site remains in a state of disuse, we intend to carry on living here as a community in a way that can be sustained indefinitely within the ecological capacity of this beautiful woodland environment.  You can read our ‘Declaration from the Dispossessed’ here which spells out what we seek:

Declaration from the Dispossessed.

We: peaceful people, declare our intention to go and cultivate the disused land of this island; to build dwellings and live together in common by the sweat of our brows.

We have one call:  every person in this country and the world should be free to live on the disused land, to grow food and to build a shelter and live together in community. This should be the case whether you have money or not. We say that no country can be considered free, until people are free to live on the disused land.

With our current system in crisis we need a radically different way of growing our communities. We call on the government and all landowners to let those who are willing, make good use of the disused land. Land that is currently held from us by force.  By our actions, we seek to show how we can live without destroying the planet or ourselves. Free from the yoke of debt and rent, our labors can be directed to the benefit of all.

Though we may be oppressed for our actions, we will strive to remain peaceful. But we are committed to our cause and will not cease from our efforts until we have achieved our goal.

20th May 2012.

Schedule for Land & Freedom Gathering

by diggers2012

Hot drinks will be available.  Please bring food and refreshments if you can.

 12-4 p.m workshops.

-Spoon Carving & Green Wood-working.  Julian.
-Clay Sculpture- Stephen Vince.
-Make your own waterproofing naturally- Phillipa
-Introduction to Permaculture- Andy B + Matyas

4-6 p.m Talks in the Geodome.
up to 20 minutes each + questions + discussion.
-’Why land rights are civil rights’: Kevin Cahill author of Who Owns Britain.
-’The radical history of Egham + Diggers’: Prof Justin Champion Royal Holloway Uni.
-’Planning law, land and livelihoods’: Mike Hannis, The Land Magazine.
-’Internet livestream feed from Ghana’: Mawukofi, Communities of Resistance, Ghana.

6.30-7.30 p.m spoken word & music jam.

7.45-9.00 p.m bike powered cinema screening.

 

Announcing the Land & Freedom Gathering.

by diggers2012

Pedal powered film screening at Runnymede eco-village, Wednesday 17th Oct.

by diggers2012

Come and join us for our first pedal powered cinema experience in the new Geodome at Runnymede eco-village next Wednesday 17th October from 7 p.m. 

We’ll be screening: ‘The Crisis of Civilization’ by Dean Puckett. Its a remix documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. For more info on the film check: http://crisisofcivilization.com/

Its free (though we welcome donations). The film will start at 19:20. Running time: 1 hr 20 minutes.  There will be hot drinks available.  All ages welcome.

Location of Runnymede eco-village:

The eco-village is located in the forest at the very end of the vacant ex-Brunel university, Runnymede Campus, Runnymede, near Egham in Surrey.Our nearest train station is Egham which is approximately 40 minutes on the train from London Waterloo. The eco-village is 20 minutes walk from the station.For full directions and a map, please go to:

http://diggers2012.wordpress.com/map/

 

Please feel free to come and visit the eco-village at any time. If you would like to stay over you are most welcome. Just bring a sleeping bag, tent and warm clothing.

Seeing the wood for the trees.

by diggers2012

If you happened to glance at a recent BBC Surrey news website report entitled: ”Runnymede squatters: National Trust wins eviction order”,  you could be forgiven for thinking that the Digger’s 2012 Runnymede Eco-village was situated on land owned by the National Trust.  We are taking this opportunity to clarify that Runnymede Eco-Village is not situated on land owned by the National Trust. It is situated in the disused woodland of the ex-Brunel university Runnymede Campus owned by the private property developer: Orchid Runnymede.   The National Trust manages the Runnymede Estate which is next to the Runnymede Campus.

We: a group of 15 people, have been living on the Runnymede Campus since June 15th.  The 65 acre campus lies in the Green Belt (although it is designated as a major development site) but since 2007 has lain largely unused.   Orchid Runnymede has been granted planning permission to build ‘luxury homes’, elderly care units and student accommodation on the site.  This plan has attracted concern and criticism from local residents (see this local news article from last year). The area of woodland where we are living has no management plan and is heavily populated by Sycamore and Ash trees.  In places it has been fly-tipped with fridges and other items.  Since our arrival we have established the Runnymede Eco-Village community here.  We’ve built a long house and other low impact structures made from the renewable timber provided by the Sycamore trees.  We’ve also dug a well (where we draw water from), setup solar panels for producing electricity and started to plant crops, and fruit trees.

We have been evicted from the Runnymede Campus (by bailiffs paid for by Orchid Runnymede) three times .  The last eviction took place on July 12th (watch a video of the eviction here).  Each time we have been evicted we have been forcibly displaced along with our belongings onto National Trust land at Cooper’s Hill Woods (next to the Runnymede Campus).  After each eviction, we have returned back onto the Runnymede Campus.  The first time we were evicted on June 27th, we briefly camped on the border with the Runnymede Campus in Cooper’s Hill Woods, before moving our tents and equipment back onto the campus and carrying on with our eco-village on the disused land there. Partly due to complacency, we neglected to move 3 tents (two of which were unoccupied) which were just inside the border of the National Trust land).

The border between the Runnymede Campus and National Trust land.

It was the issue of the 3 tents on NT land which the NT used as the basis for their legal action where they sought and successfully obtained a ‘Vacant Possession Order’ (VPO) for the whole of the Runnymede Estate (over 200 acres) against Diggers2012 and Persons Unknown.  On receiving the court papers informing us of the legal action , we moved the tents and wrote to the National Trust to let them know that they had been moved.  The National Trust decided to carry on with the legal action and obtained a VPO.  This means the NT can evict anyone including Runnymede eco-villagers from camping on their land.

As well as the VPO, the NT also attempted to obtain an injunction against Diggers2012 and Persons Unknown from ‘trespassing’ on the Runnymede Estate.  The Runnymede Estate is home to the Magna Carta monument: the site where King John is said to have sealed the Magna Carta in 1215 and is heralded as the birthplace of modern democracy.  This injunction if granted would have given the NT powers for forcibly remove any unwanted persons from assembling at Runnymede, taking part in a procession or just going for a walk.  At a court case on the 13th September in Slough County Court, following objections from three Runnymede Eco-Villagers, a district judge decided not to grant the injunction against ‘Persons Unknown’ (meaning it couldn’t be used against everyone) but adjourned the case and narrowed it to the three Runnymede Eco-Villagers (for more on this click here).

As Runnymede Eco-Villagers, It is not and never has been our intention to setup an eco-village on the open National Trust land at Runnymede.  We recognise that the Runnymede Estate is well loved by visitors from near and far.  It is also looked after and managed successfully by both volunteers and paid NT workers.  It does not fall into our criteria of ‘disused land’.  On June 09th, we set out with the intention of finding disused land on which to start an eco-village and this is what we have done on the Runnymede Campus.

The development of the Runnymede Campus appears to have stalled (something reported by local residents).  Whilst the site remains in a state of disuse, we intend to carry on living here as a community in a way that can be sustained indefinitely within the ecological capacity of this beautiful woodland environment

Eco-village under construction!

by diggers2012

As the last days of summer draw to a close, we at Runnymede have been ‘making hay while the sun shines’.   As well as carrying on the daily tasks required to live we have been working on improving our long term ability to sustain ourselves as a low impact, ecologically harmonious community.  This has included: digging a well, creating a water transportation system, building low impact dwellings and making a start on a geodesic dome communal space which we hope will serve us through winter.  Here are some photos of our recent endeavours.

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Legal update on National Trust Runnymede court case.

by diggers2012

Today a handful of villagers from Runnymede eco-village achieved a small victory for the freedom to assemble  in Slough County Court.  The case related tothe National Trust site at Runnymede: the historic location where the Magna Carta was sealed by King John in 1215.  Runnymede is a place associated with ideas such as: freedom through law, limitations on authority and democracy. The judge decided to remove ‘Persons Unknown’ (meaning it could apply to anyone) from an application for an injunction which would cover over 200 football pitches around the Magna Carta monument and apply to anyone the National Trust deemed to be: ‘trespassing’. 

The Magna Carta

This power if granted would have allowed the NT to forcibly exclude anyone from the Runnymede estate.  The NT in their witness statement cited an idea published on the Diggers2012 website (proposed by a local history professor) to hold an assembly in 2015 to commemorate the sealing of the Magna Carta as a reason to get the injunction.  As the authorities also want to hold a big commemoration in 2015 with the Queen and other notaries, it seemed that the NT wanted the power to prevent unwanted elements from coming to the Magna Carta site at Runnymede.  The judge stated that he felt the injunction was unnessecary and impossible to implement for ‘Persons Unknown’.  He did however decide to keep James, Phoenix and Simon as defendants for the injunction. He adjourned the case for 5 weeks in order for both sides to prepare their legal cases. 

The judge also granted an order for vacant possession despite there being no tents or structures on NT land by anyone from Runnymede Eco-Village (something acknowledged by the National Trust solicitor).  He did not allow defendants to fully finish their legal arguments before making the order for vacant possession.  This gives the National Trust the power to forcibly remove people from the land who are in occupation.  I.e: using tents, structures or other camping equipment.  The defendants pointed out they had no intention of setting up a long term camp on the National Trust as it was not disused and enjoyed by the public. 

All defendants made strong and clear submissions relating to the unjust and arbitary nature of the application for the injunction and order for vacant possession (for a video interview from two of them please click here.)  Neither of these orders are directed to the area of land where Runnymede Eco-Village is based which is on disused land at the ex-Brunel university Runnymede Campus.   The Runnymede Campus is subject to a county court injunction forbidding ‘Diggers2012′ and ‘Persons Unknown’ from remaining on the site.  Peacefully, the villagers disobey this law and continue to build structures, plant trees and vegetables and live together in a community that is 3 months old tomorrow.  Their message is expressed in the ‘Declaration from the dispossessed written in May this year:

”We: peaceful people, declare our intention to go and cultivate the disused land of this island; to build dwellings and live together in common by the sweat of our brows.

We have one call:  every person in this country and the world should have the right to live on the disused land, to grow food and to build a shelter. This right should apply whether you have money or not. We say that no country can be considered free, until this right is available to all.

With our current system in crisis we need a radically different way of growing our communities. We call on the government and all landowners to let those who are willing, make good use of the disused land. Land that is currently held from us by force.  By our actions, we seek to show how we can live without destroying the planet or ourselves. Free from the yoke of debt and rent, our labors can be directed to the benefit of all.

Though we may be oppressed for our actions, we will strive to remain peaceful. But we are committed to our cause and will not cease from our efforts until we have achieved our goal.

20th May 2012”

Freedom under law at Runnymede?

by diggers2012

Diggers2012 and ‘Persons Unknown’ (meaning anyone in the known universe) have been served with court papers.  Despite the fact that there are no tents, structures or other items on their land, The National Trust is seeking an order for possession and an injunction prohibiting trespassing from a large area of land (over 200 acres) including parts of the ‘Runnymede’ and ‘Ankerwycke’ Estates (which is managed by the National Trust).  The case will be heard in Slough County Court this Thursday, 13th September at 12 Noon.

We currently have no tents or structures on any National Trust land.  Our Eco-village is situated on the disused land on the ex-Brunel university Runnymede campus owned by a private housing developer.  As such the possession order requiring vacant possession of the land where the NT claim seems pointless.  We have no tents on the piece of land that the NT are referring to.  What carries greater ramifications is the fact that the NT are also requesting a ‘perpetual final injunction’ (meaning forever) to prevent Diggers2012 and ‘Persons Unknown’ from ‘trespassing further on the Runnymede Estate and the National Trust’s land at Ankerwycke’.  The Runnymede Estate is home to the Magna Carta monument, marking the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215.  Consequently Runnymede is regarded as the birthplace of modern democracy.  If granted this injunction would allow the National Trust to use ‘reasonable force’ to remove anyone deemed to be trespassing on or around the historic site of the Magna Carta.  This is ironic when considering the association of this location with ideals of democracy, limitation of power, equality and freedom under law.

One reason the witness on behalf of the NT gives for requesting an injunction concerns an extract from our website from minutes of a ‘Diggers discussion’ that took place at the Magna Carta Memorial on Saturday 30th June 2012 (page viewable here).  The witness statement states:  ”On their website, the Defendants have set out plans for a three year occupation campaign to mark the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.”  What the minutes actually said was:  ”strategic planning to build over the next three years towards 2015 and creating a massive event for the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta (which has inspired ‘democracy’ and civil rights across the world).”  This was an idea to create a grass roots gathering at the Runnymede site in 2015 to celebrate the idea of freedom and civil liberties. It contained no specific reference to use of tents or occupation.

One only has to glimpse at the website setup by the Magna Carta Trust to see that the authorities wish to shape the commemoration of the sealing of the Magna Carta in their image.  The website states: ”The 800th anniversary of the sealing af Magna Carta will be a commemoration of national and international significance… a large number of high-profile events are being planned.”  Last year it was announced the Queen has agreed to become patron of the Magna Carta Trust for the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede on 15th June 2015.  Perhaps the prospect of a rabble of common people turning up at the same time as dignitaries to commemorate the same event has irked the authorities and lead to this legal action.  Whatever the reason, the effect of such an injunction if authorized will be to grant the National Trust the power to forcibly remove anyone who they do not want on the land at Runnymede forever.

In the Magna Carta Lecture which took place this year at Royal Holloway University, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, defined law as ”as all those protocols that stop society being run exclusively in the interests of whatever group happens to be dominant at any moment, and that thus guarantee fairness and redress independently of status or power.”    Here in Runnymede, where the notion of modern law, justice and equality are said to have sprung from, you could be forgiven for thinking that the law may reflect Rowan William’s definition. And yet the reverse appears to be true.  Instead we find a minority of land owning elites hold almost total power of over access to the thing whose life we all depend on: the land.

Those of us here at Runnymede Eco-Village have become quite used to breaking the laws as a by-product of simply trying to live on disused land in a low impact and harmless way.   We will carry on doing what we think is just as the primary guide over and above these laws.  Stay tuned 8)

Report from Runnymede. Sat 08th Sept.

by diggers2012

Click to watch via Bambuser

Photos of Saturday’s open day and other happenings at Runnymede

by diggers2012

Here are some photos of this Saturday (1st September’s) open day + other images of happenings from the week. 

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