Manager occupying Goodmayes Hospital Social Club vows to keep protesting despite legal threats

The 60-year-old manager occupying the Goodmayes Hospital Social Club has vowed to keep up his protest despite the hospital trust urging him to leave as he is a “trespasser”.

“I received a terse letter today pointing out to me that I should vacate as a matter of urgency before they take legal action - which I will not be doing,” said Fin Robinson the manager of the Barley Lane club for 23 years.

“What else can they take from me - they have taken the food from my children’s’ table.”

Mr Robinson chained the doors of the building shut with him inside last Wednesday - the day he was meant to hand the keys back to the hospital’s trust - in protest over the club’s closure.

He received the letter from the North East London Foundation Trust (Nelft) today. It threatens that “the trust reserves its position to take formal steps to recover possession of the premises”.

The trust has previously said that the building must be demolished to reduce the carbon footprint of the site as it is on green belt land.

A Nelft spokesman said: “it is envisaged that Goodmayes will continue to provide in -patient healthcare, but its older buildings which are not fit for healthcare provision will be adapted to provide much needed residential accommodation in Redbridge.”

The spokesman added that social club staff are not employed by Nelft and that the trust cannot subsides the relocation of the club as it would take resources away from direct patient care.

Full story to follow.

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Manager of Goodmayes Hospital social club locks himself inside to protest against its closure