Agency And Protesters At Morlands Agree 'Way Forward'

Protesters occupying a dangerous derelict building on the Morlands site in Glastonbury have agreed to leave the building by midday today following a private meeting with the South West RDA yesterday.

At the meeting, the RDA, which owns the site, reiterated its commitment to attend a Glastonbury Town Council meeting to give a public update on Morlands and discuss future prospects for the site as a whole.

The Mayor of Glastonbury, Tom Billing, is arranging a time and date for this to be held but it is likely to be in the next few weeks.

The RDA has also agreed to defer demolition of the red brick building until the council meeting and to give the protestors two weeks notice if demolition is to go ahead.

Carl Budden, Head of Regeneration at the South West RDA, said: "Today's meeting went well. We have listened to their concerns and are pleased that the protestors have agreed to leave the red brick building.

"However, this is a dangerous building which poses a serious risk to members of the public so the two-week notice period is conditional on there being no further occupation of the building."

The protesters also put forward ideas about how the building could be used and the RDA has agreed to talk to Urban Splash about how these ideas could be taken forward. The red brick building sits on the land that is to be developed by Urban Splash.

Mr Budden continued: "We have explained the importance of keeping the building secure and the protesters have agreed to work with us to discourage trespassing at the site.

"We are pleased to have come to an amicable agreement and hope the protestors feel their concerns have been listened to and acted on."

See: Agency To Meet Glastonbury Protesters