The refugee camp in the city centre was today told again to move on by council officers.
Residents of the “Red Tent Camp” in Albert Square were told to move on by Manchester City Council today, citing disruptive building works that are about to begin.
Council officers were seen at the camp at 8.30 this morning, asking the refugees to move on ahead of noisy and ground shaking building works as part of the Town Hall restoration project which will begin in the next few days in the fenced off area in Albert Square.
They were also giving out information packs on registering for a GP.
A resident, Karlo, said: “They haven’t given us anywhere else to go. There is no accomodation for us even when we are sick.
“This is not fair.”
Those facing homelessness while sick can usually access housing quicker, but the residents report that some of them have registered as sick and have not recieved any additional support.
The packs also contained information on other places offering support including homelessness chairty Shelter and the Greater Manchester Law centre – who represented the refugees in the court case to grant them a possession order.
Sarah, a grassroots volunteer who supports refugees in Manchester, said: “They always give these GP things so they can say they’ve met some kind of duty of care.
“It ignores how challenging it is to register for a GP with a language barrier and lack of knowledge about how our healthcare system works and also that they’re all already registered for the GP.
“A GP isn’t going to get them housed!”
The camp, which now has around 40 tents, moved to Albert Square after being evicted two weeks ago from the site in St Peter’s Square where it had been for nearly a year.
In a statement after the eviction Manchester City Council said: “We have conducted homelessness assessments for people camping there and offered temporary accommodation to everyone who we owed a statutory duty – anyone classed as vulnerable and in priority need.
“Others on site who were not classed as vulnerable were still offered advice and support, including a personal housing plan, to help them secure accommodation for themselves.
“We would reiterate that help is at hand for any Manchester resident facing homelessness. The Council’s homelessness service works hard alongside a fantastic network of voluntary and community sector organisations in the city.”
Main image by Roma Robinson
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