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OFFMARKET, a new squatted open space in Hackney, London

offmarket | 23.01.2011 20:08 | Free Spaces

OffMarket is a new open squatted space, a small shopfront on 111 Lower Clapton rd E5 0NP. It is run by volunteers who all live in or around hackney. The aims of the space is to be an open resource for local people and groups, but also to house various projects: InfoLibrary with books and zines, a FreeZone, info about squatting, skill sharing...

We, the OffMarket collective, take disused buildings and turn them into open resources.

We have just moved in to 111 Lower Clapton Road E5 ONP.

There are lots of ideas about what to do with this space!

One is to initially try and link to local and broader struggles that are happening in Hackney around issues like the coming cuts, housing, employment, gentrification, supermarket invasion etc.
There is also a FreeZone, where you can bring what you don't need any more and take what you need ; an InfoLibrary with literature available about various political subjects ; promoting and defending squatting ; skill-sharing etc.

This space has been empty for more than a year now. Yes, we occupy buildings that don't 'belong' to us :) Rents in London are extortionate, bills are prohibitive, Council housing lists are endless, some are sleeping rough and there are still more than 82,000 empty houses in London! While big owners are letting building rot empty to speculate, we simply claim that everyone should have a decent home!

Millionaires in government are explaining us that we will have to tighten our belts while shareholders and tax avoiders pockets are still getting full. We're being told again and again that there is no alternative, nothing we can do, and we all end up trapped in this belief! For us this project is about creating alternatives on our own terms, whether authorities are happy about it or not, and trying to have fun along the way!

Opening days at the moment are: Sunday 12-6pm, Monday 12-6pm, Tuesday 12-8pm.
OffMarket open meetings are on Monday 7pm if you want to meet us, check the space out or have any proposal to use the space!
Accessibility info for folks with different abilities: check