Thousands of people have signed a petition opposing the replacement of the operators of five north London cafés. The cafés, located in Hampstead Heath, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood, are due to change hands following a retendering process launched earlier this year.
Celebrities including Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy have backed the campaign to retain the existing operators, who are scheduled to leave the cafés by 31 January. More than 11,800 people have written to the City of London Corporation, the landowner, asking for the handover to be halted. The corporation said the retendering was intended to ensure the cafés continue to provide “a high-quality visitor experience”.
Emma Fernandez and Patrick Matthews have run the Parliament Hill Lido Café for 10 years. The City of London Corporation, which manages green spaces as a registered charity, announced on 19 December that four cafés—at Queen’s Park, Golders Hill Park, Parliament Hill Lido, and Parliament Hill Fields—would be operated by the chain Daisy Green. The operator for the fifth café, in Highgate Wood, is yet to be confirmed.
A previous retendering process in 2016 awarded the leases to Benugo, though the chain later withdrew. The corporation said applications were assessed on several factors, including concept, menu and food offer, and community and social value, rather than purely on income. Existing operators were invited to submit proposals as part of the process.
Doug Crawford, part of a campaign group supporting the current café operators, said to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the local community’s voice had been “drowned out by corporate greed”. However, Gregory Jones from the City of London Corporation, speaking to the same, stated that Daisy Green “demonstrated the strongest blend of quality, sustainability, affordability, and community value”.
Daisy Green operates 21 sites in London, including a location at the National Portrait Gallery.
Co-founder Prue Freeman said the team was “delighted” to have been selected to run the cafés. She added: “We want these cafés to remain welcoming spaces where everyone feels included and connected to these very special spaces.”
