BOURNEMOUTH Council won an order to evict Occupy protesters from Bournemouth Centre for Community Arts despite claims they were protecting it for the public good.

District Judge Ivor Weintroub made the ruling at Bournemouth County Court yesterday, to repeated interruptions from around 25 people in the public gallery.

Protesters moved into the empty Haviland Road building on February 19.

Council leader John Beesley told the Echo after the case: “We will be securing possession at the earliest opportunity.”

The council plans to transfer the site to a community land trust, which aims to part demolish the site and develop 11 affordable houses, and restore the listed section to community use.

Defendant Gary Sherborne, from Boscombe, argued the Occupiers were acting under common law in the public interest to prevent the loss of an irreplaceable community building.

Defendant Christopher Kettle, from the town centre, said: “The council has betrayed the trust of residents and residents feel they, the council, can no longer be trusted to adhere to the covenant and act honourably.”

The council’s barrister Paul Wilmshurst said despite an adjournment on March 6, no defence had been filed.

He said: “Further delay cau-ses a nuisance in the area.”

Judge Weintroub said he was ruling on trespass, not planning issues.

He said the council had tried to assess the needs of homeless people said to be living inside, contrary to an argument from Mr Sherborne.

He noted the 1879 covenant which said the land should be used for the education of adults and children from the manufacturing and labouring classes.

But he said the council fully owned the land and was both the dominant and servient tenement and had full rights over the covenant.

He said: “I fully understand why local residents may well be upset.

“They have democratic rights to do certain things which are protected by law – and the law also protects owners of property against trespass.”

He said the council was democratically accountable for its decisions and that Mr Kettle was in effect arguing that people were entitled to take the law into their own hands.

Mr Sherborne, Mr Kettle, and a third defendant, Bob Earthwise were ordered to pay a total of £1,400 in costs.

Mr Sherborne said he would appeal. Linda Ni’Man from The Friends of the BCCA said: “It’s not over.”