The end of the line: Grow Heathrow squatters decide against appeal to Supreme Court

In my previous update on the ongoing possession dispute concerning an area of land in London that could form part of a proposed new runway at Heathrow Airport ( Heathrow Squatters - a very public eviction on the horizon?"), I noted that there was a marked lack of news concerning any appeal by the squatters to the Supreme Court. In a recently published statement, the squatters have confirmed that they will not be pursuing an appeal.

The squatters have stated that the appeal has not been pursued due to being unable to obtain legal aid to fund the case. Putting to one side the current hot topic of the withdrawal of legal aid and the implications that they may have had on this and other cases, many commentators, the writer included, believed that any appeal was doomed to fail. A considerable amount of time and cost will be saved as a result of the squatters deciding not to contest the landowner right to possession of the land any further.

The Landowner has given no indication, in public at least, as to what he plans to do next, whether that be to sell the land to Grow Heathrow, enter into some form of letting arrangement with them or take steps to evict them. One thing is for certain; the squatters, who will shortly have been have been in occupation for 4 years, show no signs of vacating the site any time soon. The legal battle may be over (at least on the issue of whether the landowner has the right to possession of the land), but there will be no withdrawal from the battle field just yet.

This article is for general guidance only. It provides useful information in a concise form. Action should not be taken without obtaining specific legal advice.