Couple threaten City of London Corporation with legal action over park cafés transfer

According to the campaign organiser, Patrick Matthews, on 19 December, the City of London Corporation told five long-standing, independent park cafés in Queens Park, Highgate Wood, and Hampstead Heath that they would be evicted “within weeks”.

Four are set to be handed to the ‘Daisy Green’ chain - which runs over 20 venues across London.

The couple, who run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido and Queen’s Park, argue that the Corporation failed to carry out a “fair or transparent process”, and have sent a pre-action protocol letter to the City of London Corporation from their lawyers at TLT.

Posting on their ‘Go Fund Me’ page on 8 January, Matthews wrote: “Today our first letter is going out to the City of London Corporation. […] We can't go into all the detail, but it will challenge the decision to hand out cafés to Daisy Green on the basis of irrationality, lack of transparency and failure of the Corporation to exercise proper stewardship of its assets.”

He added: “We will resist leaving the cafés on the required date of Monday 2 February, not least because we believe this short notice period is part of the pattern of secrecy and working towards a predetermined outcome.”

Hampstead and Highgate MP Tulip Siddiq has backed the campaign, and wrote to the City of London Corporation last week to ask it to review the decision.

Posting on X, she wrote: “My constituents have made their feelings clear; our beloved local cafes must stay. It is vital that the cafes and the Heath remain accessible and affordable for all.

“Today (8 January), I wrote again to the City of London Corporation asking them to review this decision and to publish the documents justifying their decision.”

In a statement the City of London Corporation, which manages Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park as registered charities, insisted the decision to award leases to Daisy Green would "secure the long-term future of the cafés across both open spaces following a fair, competitive, and open remarketing process".

Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee, Alderman Gregory Jones KC, said: “There have been several misleading and inaccurate claims since we awarded the leases to Daisy Green and it’s important to be clear about the facts.

“These cafés are not closing. They are much-loved parts of Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park, and this process was about ensuring they can continue to operate and invest for the long term.

“Previously, the cafés were operating on short-term arrangements that made it difficult to invest in their buildings and facilities. Moving to longer-term leases under Daisy Green allows that community investment to happen and secures the cafes’ future."

He added: “As trustee of the charities that manage these open spaces at no expense to the taxpayer, the City Corporation has a duty to act in the best interest of those charities.....

“Daisy Green is an independent, London-based business, not a national or multinational chain. And while it operates more than one site, each café will retain its own identity, shaped by its setting and with input from the local community. This approach is not dissimilar to that taken by some of the existing independent café operators who run multiple outlets and business ventures across London."

TLT declined to provide any further information.

Lottie Winson