The owner of a derelict factory which has been turned into a hippy ‘shanty town’ insists he is doing nothing wrong as he goes to war with his local council.
The Zigzag building, a former sheep skin factory in Glastonbury, has become home to a group of people living ‘alternative lifestyles’ after seeking ‘sanctuary’ inside its walls.
The encampment, which is covered in Ukraine and Palestine flags, has sprouted since the site was bought in 2013 by Christopher Black, who leases shipping containers and caravans to some of the people living there.
However, it raised anger among residents who say they are fearful of ‘antisocial behaviour’ from the people living there and the council has demanded the people inside its walls leave.
But Mr Black, who says he saved the historic building from demolition when he took ownership more than a decade ago, says he won’t turf out the people living there and brags he has turned it into a ‘cultural centre’.
The owner of a factory which has been turned into a hippy ‘shanty town’ insists he is doing nothing wrong as he goes to war with the council. Pictured is the former Moorlands Factory
Christopher Black pictured outside the property he is in dispute with the local authorities
Seamstress Blanka Kolkova with some of her work within the factory in Somerset
The encampment has sprouted since the site was bought in 2013
Mr Black says he saved the historic building from demolition when he took ownership
A caravan parked on a street near the former factory in Glastonbury
The row, which exploded last year when Somerset Council served an enforcement notice saying the residential use was one of a number of planning breaches, has threatened to envelop the town.
A public inquiry was held after Mr Black appealed the enforcement notice, with residents both inside and outside the factory waiting anxiously to find out the result.
The site, which sits less than ten miles from Glastonbury Festival, lies on the outskirts of the town in an industrial estate.
The building is surrounded by other derelict factories, while the streets surrounding it have become a dumping ground for caravans and trailers, locals say. These are not affiliated with the Zigzag building or Mr Black.
The 1930s factory is guarded by a set of iron gates and has Ukrainian and Palestinian flags draped on the outside.
People living nearby say the behaviour of people on the site is causing ‘distress’, sparking worried parents to move their children out of nearby schools because of ‘antisocial behaviour’.
Retired carpenter Les Webb, 76, told The Sun the town had ‘a real problem with those seeking an alternative lifestyle’.
‘They come here looking some sort of idyllic life and end up living in the grounds of a derelict building,’ he said.
Locals have been left terrified by the number of people who have descended to the area who ‘have no connection’ with Glastonbury, according to resident Michael Dodson.
The 56-year-old said: ‘To talk about Glastonbury as a place of refuge and compassion is to absolutely ignore the awful experiences of people who have to live near these loose-knit shanty towns.’
A public inquiry was held after Mr Black appealed the enforcement notice, with residents both inside and outside the factory waiting anxiously to find out the result
Blanka Kolkova works as a seamstress in the building and lives in a small container 10ft wide
The encampment, which is covered in Ukraine and Palestine flags, is pictured
This is the former Moorlands Factory in Glastonbury, Somerset
The Zigzag building now contains a ‘cheap’ charity shop selling repaired wears for 50p and a ‘community textile centre’ where donated clothes are fixed
But Mr Black, 68, has denied people living in the Zigzag building are causing problems and insists it has a tight-knit community that is a place of refuge for people with few options.
He said: ‘I bought it because it’s a fabulous bauhaus building. We fixed up 2400 windows to make it into a cultural centre.
Corduroy-clad Black said the Zigzag building now contains a ‘cheap’ charity shop selling repaired wears for 50p and a ‘community textile centre’ where donated clothes are fixed.
‘People make a living doing things they like,’ he added.
Dismissing noise complaints, he said: ‘We had ceilidh’s over the winter, but they didn’t finish late.’
Mr Black, who says he has spent his life renovating disused buildings, allows some people to live on the site.
He said he has ‘half a dozen’ people living in containers and caravans on the site paying as little as £30 in rent.
One resident, Blanka Kolkova, works as a seamstress in the building and lives in a small container about 10ft wide.
The 47-year-old described her messy clothes workshop as her ‘playground’.
Mr Black, who says he has spent his life renovating disused buildings, allows some people to live on the site
The inside of the former sheep skin factory has been turned into a ‘cultural centre’ by the residents
Mr Black’s decision to let people live on the land and turn it into a ‘community centre’ has brought him into conflict with Somerset Council
Kolkova, originally from Czechia, said: ‘We’ve made £3.5k since 2021. We get the clothes from donations and sell them every Friday between 1 and 4pm.’
Mr Black also claimed that another resident is a fireman.
Asked why he didn’t display the British flag, he said: ‘The British flag has been destroyed by the right-wing elements in our country.
‘[We’ll put it up] when the country does something worth it. This is a great country and we should be doing much better than we are.’
Mr Black’s decision to let people live on the land and turn it into a ‘community centre’ has brought him into conflict with Somerset Council, who have expressed concerns over the conditions these people are living in and argue that it is breach of planning.
In October last year the local authority served an enforcement notice against Mr Black, and this spiralled into a public inquiry which finished last week after he appealed.
In its notice the council demanded the unauthorised mixed use of the land for storage and residential use was stopped; all caravans, steel containers, goods and chattels were permanently removed; and the land was restored to its original condition before the unauthorised material change of use.
Mr Black has defended the move, saying: ‘They told us we can’t live on an industrial estate. But if you are poor, where do you live?’
They have set up a “shanty town” of storage containers near the homes of fed-up residents
Locals say people interested in “alternative lifestyles” are coming to the town
A retired carpenter said the town ‘a real problem with those seeking an alternative lifestyle’
Both Mr Black and Somerset Council are awaiting the decision of the public inquiry, which could spell the end of the commune
He previously told Glastonbury Nub News in January: ‘Zigzag is massively under threat now from gentrification, with the huge amounts of funding going to the restoration of the Red Brick Building and the plans to turn Bride’s Mound into a tourist spot.
‘Yes, we are different – but that doesn’t mean we should have to go.’
Both he and Somerset Council are awaiting the decision of the public inquiry, which could spell the end of the commune.
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: ‘Somerset Council and other regulatory bodies have long been concerned about land uses and living conditions for people living in and around the privately owned 1930s Zig Zag building in Morland Road, Northover, Glastonbury.
‘Somerset Council is aware of some of the more vulnerable people on the site and has provided social and housing advice and support.
‘Part of the £26.3 million Government funded Glastonbury Town Deal (within the Levelling up Agenda) focuses on the improvement of facilities for non-bricks and mortar dwellers which includes the potential development of a new site.
‘Somerset Council and partner agencies, such as the Police, will continue to work with the owner and occupants on this matter.
‘The Planning Inspectorate held an Inquiry in mid-April and we await their result to consider next steps.’
