A Rotherhithe business owner had a sudden start this morning when twenty bailiffs turned up to evict him from his premises following a seventeen-month battle for relocation.
After he was ordered by his landlord of over twenty years to leave the premises last year, Michael Clinkett owner of Plush SE16, has been staying on the site to campaign for his right to be relocated.
Plush SE16 consists of a Caribbean takeaway, a car wash, a barber, a hairdresser, and a music studio and has been a well-loved staple by the community for over twenty years.
But at 4:30 am (Tuesday 16 January), on the landlord’s orders, a group of bailiffs and security dogs turned up to secure the site and evict the businesses. They will be occupying the site for the next six months.
Speaking to the News shortly after arriving on the site – Mr Clinkett said: “I woke up to like twenty missed calls from the community telling me the bailiffs were here.
“This time they came prepared to make sure this happens.”
Watch the video here.
He continued: “I don’t know what to do next. All I can say is, I’m not going to give up. I’ve been fighting for the community intensely for two years now. I refuse to let my community down.”
The ongoing saga at the site on Rotherhithe New Road saw locals in an uproar when attempts were first made to evict him in 2022.
Plans to build a twelve-storey tower block on the site remain unclear after the Southwark Council stepped in and refused full planning permission, saying the five businesses must be relocated as part of a policy in their Southwark Plan.
However, the landlord of the site did not renew the lease for Plush. Mr Clinkett took his case to court to prevent a possession order, but the judge could not see any legal grounds for agreeing to his appeals, although Mr Clinkett claims he said: “Mr Clinkett it appears that there has been a great deal of injustice against you in regards to your Business Relocation”.
Last March, after he was ordered to leave the site, the landlord agreed a stay of execution until April 19 2023. But since nothing was due to be built there, Mr Clinkett decided to stay and continued to serve his customers, not knowing when his last day would be.
VIDEO: Rotherhithe rallies behind Plush SE16 as their eviction date looms
“It’s been stressful for me not knowing,” he explained. “By rights I shouldn’t be here today but I am. I’m here campaigning for my right to be relocated.”
Mr Clinkett added that he is ‘upset and disappointed’ with Southwark Council for not being able to find a suitable location for him.
“What are the policies for if they’re not there to protect us?” he asked.
Although it would have been the developer’s job to relocate Plush, in a previous statement Southwark Council asserted that they had tried to also, but ‘could not find [a site] Mr Clinkett considered suitable.’
When we approached the council previously (March 2023) they said they would continue to look for a suitable relocation site for Plush. But today, in a further blow and an apparent ‘change of position’ they said they were under ‘no obligation’ to relocate the businesses.
The landowner has been contacted.
As it stands, Mr Clinkett and his 28 staff have no plans for what to do next.
One staff member, Steve, the chef at Plush, turned up to the fenced site and looked on at his cooking station with sadness: “The community is relying on us. Now after this morning – we don’t know what the next option is.
“I don’t know what to do now. Hopefully by the grace of god we get help.”
Read more on this story here.