Katharine Hoskyns has been lovingly tending her small street oasis with a bench and plant pots in St John’s Wood for more than 25 years — but Westminster City Council says she may now have to remove it following resident complaints
An 89 year old grandmother has been told by her local council that she may be forced to remove the cherished street garden she has lovingly maintained for decades, after neighbours raised complaints about alleged “anti-social behaviour”.
Katharine Hoskyns transformed a small patch outside her home in St John’s Wood, north-west London, into a charming oasis, complete with a bench and plant pots, over 25 years ago. The retired teacher says she takes great pleasure in tending to her collection of tomatoes, geraniums, and herbs, and that many of her neighbours regularly pitch in to help.
However, last month Westminster City Council (WCC) issued her a notice demanding she remove the bench and plants following a “series of complaints from residents” that the spot was attracting “anti-social behaviour”. The council stated it was “reluctantly” obliged to begin a formal process – but expressed hope that the matter could be resolved “amicably”.
Katharine insists that only a single neighbour has raised objections. She said: “There is just one person who doesn’t like it. They thought there was anti-social behaviour on the bench. There is no anti-social behaviour.”
Hamilton Gardens is a quiet cul-de-sac situated near Abbey Road, just a stone’s throw from the legendary studio where the Beatles famously recorded their albums.
Katharine has called the street home since the 1960s, gradually adding to her collection of plant pots over the years. She said: “The council put in parking, so I had cars parked outside my house where I used to have a nice space.
“I decided instead of being miserable about it I was going to make the space nice again. I love it because I can go and potter around with my pots and people come up and talk to me. It is nice and sociable.
“I was really upset when I got the letter. It doesn’t cause obstruction, there is plenty of room for a wheelchair.”
The letter, dispatched at the end of July, stated that WCC had received complaints from “members of the local community.”
It further noted that the council believed the garden could pose problems, claiming that fallen pots could result in injury and that the bench had not been confirmed as “structurally safe”. However, upon receiving the enforcement notice, Katharine resolved to challenge the decision.
The mum-of-three and grandmother responded to the letter with assistance from her family, putting forward their case and including a petition bearing the signatures of over 60 local residents at the time.
The deadline to remove the plants has since passed without any action from WCC, yet Katharine remains convinced their battle is far from over. She said: “They will probably be in contact again but we will just keep replying when they do. It is not just me now, loads of people are involved and helping with the fight.
“The neighbours volunteer and help a lot. It is a community thing as well as for me.”
WCC had previously installed a camera near the garden to keep tabs on any anti-social behaviour, which Katharine claims has uncovered none whatsoever.
She notes that many locals adore the display, and the Abbey Road orchestra has even nicknamed the street “The Pots”. Katharine’s son Nicky Hoskyns, 58, launched the petition to preserve the pots, which has now gathered an impressive 190 signatures – all collected in person.
He said: “It was a bit of a shock, but we have responded. The whole family are involved and we have got a good campaign team.
“Everybody we have spoken to loves the pots. There is real solid support. We haven’t had any negative feedback. It looks like it is a battle that we can win, and we need some little wins at the moment. It would be such a shame if we lost them. The area would be horrible without them, you really would start to get problems.”
A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “Following a series of resident complaints and attempts to resolve this dispute informally over several years, the council was, reluctantly, obliged to begin a formal process.
“Residents should be able to live without anti-social behaviour impacting on their lives. Moving this bench will help reduce the recent disturbance in the area.
“We remain hopeful that we can resolve the situation amicably.”
