846 is the number of empty houses in Woking (a small town in Surrey) alone in October 2010. (figures from emptyhomes.com)

Why pop-ups pop up everywhere Temporary shops and restaurants were once a way for artists to subvert empty urban spaces. Now, they're just as likely to be part of a corporate marketing strategy Kira Cochrane The Guardian, Tuesday 12 October 2010 Article history In a dark, dank nightclub beneath some railway arches, with the clatter and chug of trains overhead, I am having a minor Proustian moment. This London club was last open in the late 1990s, and its smell sends me straight back to that era, my student days: to Britpop and Blur, late-teenage clinches, 70p for a vodka and Coke. The aroma is strong, sour, specific, but it won't linger here for very much longer. Over the last few weeks this long-abandoned club has been taken over by a group of young event organisers for an ambitious, 99-day pop-up project called Counter Culture. The programme will deliver photographers and DJs, comedians and poets, art exhibitions and parties, a different lineup each night, spiriting this sprawling, downtrodden building straight into the 21st century. One of the four organisers, 23-year-old Lee Denny, meets me at the door, apologises for his moustache ("I'm not trying to look cool, I promise")...

Squatters could be good for us all, says judge in empty homes ruling Squatters are not criminals and could be good for society, a judge has ruled in ordering a London council to make public a list of empty homes in its area. Camden Council must now comply with a Freedom of Information Act request for a list of empty council-managed and private homes in the borough Photo: REX 7:00AM BST 06 Sep 2011250 Comments With police backing, Camden Council argued that disclosing the list risked unleashing a wave of criminal damage, arson, drug-related crime and organised “stripping” of vacant properties. But Judge Fiona Henderson emphasised that squatters were not law-breakers and said official concerns were outweighed by the “public interest in putting empty properties back into use”. The tribunal ruling means Camden Council must now comply with a Freedom of Information Act request by Yiannis Voyias of the Advisory Service for Squatters for a list of empty council-managed and private homes in the borough. Camden’s lawyers argued that disclosure of the list would compromise “the prevention or detection of crime”, while police said there was a link between squatting and a range of crimes, including vandalism, drug use...