The chairman of a Nottingham community group complained to police after he claimed that city council staff tore down posters at their building. Phil Merry says he was told during a meeting on February 7 that if the Mapperley Community Association did not hand over the keys, they could face eviction from the Mapperley Community Centre on Woodborough Road, which they have used since 1957.
Following that meeting, the Mapperley Community Association put up four posters outside the building to "raise awareness" about the possibility of eviction. It later emerged that Nottingham City Council appeared to change its position during a meeting on March 8.
During that meeting, Mr Merry says the council said that eviction was "never an option." Instead, Phil Merry says the council is keen to negotiate on the signing of a new lease which will move the Mapperley Community Association on to a commercial level of rent.
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But Mr Merry says the uncertainty around the initial eviction threat has cost the group around £4,000. Now, Mr Merry says he complained to Nottinghamshire Police after he says he saw Nottingham City Council employees tearing down his posters.
He says it happened on March 16 and that he saw it on CCTV giving that he was away at the time. He said: "Altogether, these posters cost us around £260 to produce.
"The only reason we made them is because the council threatened us with eviction. We are already out of pocket because of that, so I was furious to then see the council coming to rip the posters down without warning."
Nottingham City Council said it would not comment officially on Mr Merry's complaint. But in an email to him from the authority, seen by Nottinghamshire Live, the council says the posters were placed on its property without permission.
The council says a poster referred to a city council officer by name, which was considered "inappropriate." The council also said in the email, sent on March 17, that "by placing posters of this nature in the public domain, the centre has engaged in anti-social behaviour, with conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person."
Phil Merry says only one of the four posters named a council officer. Nottinghamshire Police confirmed it had looked into Phil Merry's complaint, but told him it was a civil matter.
Speaking previously about the future of the Mapperley Community Association, a Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "The council continues to carry out a review of all its community assets and buildings to make sure they are providing best value to local taxpayers. This is part of our work under the Together For Nottingham Plan.
"Negotiations remain ongoing with the group based at Mapperley Community Centre and we feel these have been positive... We are carefully considering their input to see if we can find a solution that works for everyone."
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