Couple to take legal action in Hampstead café row

The owners of three cafés based in north London parks say they are going to take legal action against the City of London Corporation over its decision to replace them.

In December, the corporation announced Daisy Green would be taking over the management of four cafés in Hampstead Heath and Queen's Park, three of which are currently run by Emma Fernandez and Patrick Matthews.

The couple have now informed the corporation they are seeking a judicial review into that decision, claiming the retendering process was unfair and lacked transparency.

The corporation has rejected the claim the process was unlawful, saying it was an open one with over 30 submissions, including from the current operators.

The corporation manages green spaces as a registered charity and is also responsible for the cafés in Golders Hill Park, Parliament Hill Lido, Parliament Hill Fields and Highgate Woods.

Fernandez said: "It is horrible it has had to come to this.

"I've had the worst anxiety because we have two little children and this is our livelihood. I've been terrified of not having a roof over my head."

Fernandez, whose children are aged eight and 11, added she had been blown away by the community's support.

"Two swimmers had connections so they helped set us up with two amazing barristers who are doing this pro-bono.

"We are also paying for solicitors but the community fundraised almost £10,000 which is going towards those costs.

"We have an extremely strong and close-knit community which comes together when it feels that a part of it is threatened."

Fernandez and Matthews had been told by the corporation to vacate the premises by Monday.

But the couple, through their company Hoxton Beach, started the process of applying for a judicial review last week.

"A judicial review is a long process and if we had vacated the cafés while the review was being decided, we would have risked losing staff, income and equipment - it could have bankrupted us," said Fernandez.

She added that just as their legal team was about to file for an injunction against the corporation to stop it from evicting them, the corporation said it would pause its eviction proceedings and grant the couple more time.

A spokesperson for the corporation said: "We have followed a legitimate and open process in awarding the new café leases, which is being challenged by Hoxton Beach.

"We reject their suggestion that the process was in any way unlawful and the matter is with our lawyers."

It added that it may, if appropriate, seek an order for possession in the county court.

"We want the approved operators to move in as soon as possible," the statement added.

"Our focus remains on acting in the best interests of the charity and ensuring the best possible services for visitors to these much-loved spaces."

Last week, the corporation issued a statement in the form of "an open letter to the people who use the cafés on Hampstead Heath",which said a small number of individuals appeared to have directed "hostility, intimidation and harassment towards not only colleagues who work on the heath and those who provide support from across the City Corporation, but also Daisy Green".

It added that it felt like "nothing short of bullying".

"It is unfair, unacceptable, and runs counter to the values that the heath represents and hinders our ability to run the heath for the benefit of the millions of people who love it and use it. This behaviour and the hostility is also having a significant impact on the health of individuals involved."

It added that some people may have signed the petition without knowing all of the facts and said that the money the corporation spent on legal fees "cannot be spent on picking litter, clearing paths, pruning trees, maintaining facilities and conserving nature".

The statement added that Daisy Green was selected on the strength of its proposals, "including investment in café buildings, commitments to community use, affordability, and fair pay for staff".

"These merits have been repeatedly overlooked by a handful of people who are in favour of spreading misinformation and lies," it added.

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