A POSSESSION order to evict a group of homeless people from the Old Power Station in Osney will be sought in the next few days, Oxford University has said.

On Sunday afternoon members of Iffley Open House, a group of activists and volunteers supporting about 20 homeless people over the winter, entered the disused site in Arthur Street and claimed squatters’ rights.

The university, which owns the building, has said it is ‘too concerned’ for the occupiers’ safety to let them stay and is applying to the courts this week.

Spokesman Matt Pickles said: “We will apply for an interim possession order as soon as possible this week.

“Falling masonry is the main risk but another risk is uneven flooring. The building is unsafe for occupation.”

Part of the Old Power Station, which was used by the physics faculty and could be re-developed by the Said Business School, houses collections from the Museum of the History of Science.

Other areas are standing empty and Open House has set up communal living areas in the vast main hall, as well as individual ‘bedrooms’ for would-be rough sleepers in administrative rooms to one side. The heating is still working seven years after the Old Power Station was last occupied.

A spokesman for Open House, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Being homeless is extremely traumatic and there’s that much more trauma when you have complex needs and don’t have options.

“We totally understand what the university is saying about safety, but this has to be put in the context that the building is infinitely safer than being out on the streets.”

Previously the group had been staying in a former VW showroom owned by Wadham College before being evicted.

The volunteer added: “With Wadham, we cordoned off unsafe areas and made fire safety strategies

“Rooms on the side are very much office and domestic in scale. We don’t need to go into the dramatic warehouse spaces.

“This is not permanent accommodation but you can’t build a longer-term plan for residents when you are constantly battling landlords about whether you can stay for a few days here and there. There needs to be a little bit of respite and we are all stretched.

“They could get us out within 24 hours of a possession order if they wanted to. It’s pretty terrifying.”

The group has also suggested Oxford University sign a ‘liability waiver’ for the duration of their stay, agreeing the university is not implicated if they come to any harm while staying there.

Mr Pickles said: “We do not believe such an agreement is possible under the Occupiers Liability Act of 1984, and in any case we would still be too concerned for the occupiers’ safety to allow them to stay.”

The university could not confirm what other empty premises it owns in Oxford but said ‘only a fraction’ were empty and unused at a given time.