The squatters resisted eviction with creative actions, such as pretending the council had given them ownership and making spoof election materials.

[1] The owner was Oostpoort, a consortium of developers which had demolished the other buildings in the area and left the Valreep because of its monumental status.

It was derelict and completely disconnected from utilities, so the squatters restored it and began hosting activities such as concerts, films and yoga workshops.

[1] They called the self-managed social centre Op de Valreep ("just in time").

In 2012, they made a fake press release announcing that the local council was going to hand over ownership of the building to them and invited people from the local community to attend a ceremony, at which an actor impersonating local councillor Thijs Reuten of the PvdA (Dutch Labour Party) gave the squatters fake deeds; the council was forced to issue a denial.