2 hours ago
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A couple who run three cafes at north London beauty spots including Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park have claimed a small victory in their battle to overturn the decision by their landlord, the City of London Corporation, to evict them.
Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez have run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood for several years, but were told just before Christmas they had been unsuccessful in a retendering process.
The corporation, the governing body that runs London’s Square Mile, has responsibility for managing green spaces such as Hampstead Heath, which it runs as a registered charity.
It awarded the lease for two of the couple’s sites as well as two other cafes to Australian-inspired chain Daisy Green, while the lease for the couple’s third site was handed to another operator. Matthews, Fernandez and the other tenants were told to vacate their premises by Monday 2 February.
Matthews and Fernandez, through their company Hoxton Beach, are pursuing legal action against the corporation over its decision.
They accuse the authority of unfairness and a lack of transparency in the retendering process, which they believe was run as a commercial exercise in a bid to raise money.
They have now been informed through their lawyers they do not need to vacate the cafes next week.
However, the corporation has said it may try to obtain a court order to repossess the premises.
“We are grateful for small mercies,” said Matthews. “We are very relieved we don’t have to get out in a few days’ time, which would have been impractical and probably would have destroyed our business.”
The corporation has faced a backlash at its decision to bring in a new cafe operator among the local community and the customers of the cafes, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy have backed the campaign.
More than 22,000 people have signed a petition calling for the corporation to retain the current cafe operators, while Matthews and Fernandez have raised more than £9,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to fund their legal action.
A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said the authority had “followed a legitimate and open process in awarding the new cafe leases” and it rejected any suggestion “that the process was in any way unlawful”.
They added: “Hoxton Beach have refused to leave the cafes they occupy despite their tenancies having been terminated. The City Corporation may if appropriate seek an order for possession in the county court.
“We want the approved operators to move in as soon as possible.”
Daisy Green brings “relaxed and buzzing Australian food and coffee culture to London”, according to its website, and it operates 21 sites across the capital, ranging from the National Portrait Gallery to a barge moored on the Thames at Richmond.
The corporation said Daisy Green had committed to retaining existing staff and paying them the London living wage, while also pledging to purchase equipment from the current operators where possible.
