Protesters at a squatters’ camp set up by Brighton Climate Action face an eviction hearing at Brighton County Court tomorrow (Tuesday 17 May).
The original protesters said that they left the site – at the disused St Anne’s School in Lewes – on Sunday 1 May.
Their departure came the day after they took part in a “May Day demonstration” in Brighton town centre (Saturday 30 April).
But they have urged sympathisers to show support at the court tomorrow for those facing eviction.
Brighton Climate Action said on its website: “An eviction notice was served on the campers at St Anne’s School, Lewes, at 3pm on Tuesday May 10.
“The occupation was begun on April 22 by members of UK Climate Camp and was concluded on May 1.
“A public meeting at the site on May 2, attended by local residents, voted to begin a new occupation, named STAND (St Anne’s Diggers), to draw attention to the special nature of the site and the county council’s stated intention to sell it for development.”
East Sussex County Council said that it was taking legal action to evict the protesters after receiving complaints from neighbours of the site.
Brighton Climate Action had said that the occupation of the site would be limited to a week.
Although the group said that it had left the closed school’s grounds after a week as promised, one neighbour said: “I think they’re being a bit disingenuous.
“Quite a few of them look the same to me and I think they’ve just called themselves by another name to try and find a way to justify staying there.”
The council is not expected to sell the site in the current market.
It said that it would consider making the grounds available for community use but only after it had regained possession and made the old school building secure.
