Woman, 89, told to remove her 25-year-old potted street garden

An 89-year-old woman who has tended a street garden in St John's Wood in central London for more than 25 years has been told she may have to get rid of it after complaints.

Katharine Hoskyns was sent a removal notice by Westminster City Council in July, which told her to remove a bench and more than 20 plant pots on the pavement outside her home.

She said she created the garden after parking spaces were put in on the street, and has since grown geraniums, tomatoes and herbs there with help from neighbours.

"I was very upset and angry when I first got the letter, but then my family all rallied round and wrote a letter to the council and started this petition," she said.

The petition, started by her son, has gathered more than 190 signatures.

Katharine, a retired teacher who has lived in the area since the 1960s, said the garden gave her a reason to go outside.

"This space is important to me because I love gardening and it gives me plenty to do. I need an occupation in my retirement," she said.

"People come up and talk to me while I'm doing it, so it gives me a bit of a social life as well."

She said she had never seen anti-social behaviour at the site and disputed that the pots obstructed the pavement. She uses a walking frame and said she was able to pass them freely.

Westminster City Council said that unauthorised plant pots were subject to enforcement if they caused obstruction or were complained about.

Her neighbour Holly Bell-Stevens said the corner would lose its character if the pots went.

"We have this quiet oasis within the City of Westminster, and removing the pots means it would just become another concrete corner," she said.

"My children learned how to ride their bikes in this corner. We walk our dogs here. It cultivates a community and it touches everyone."

The deadline set out in the notice has passed and the garden has not been removed. Katharine said she expected to hear from the council again.

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."

The council said examples of anti-social behaviour around the bench had included drug taking and dumped rubbish, and that it hoped to work with Katharine to move the bench and pots to a more suitable location.

Residents said they would welcome a joint effort with the council over the future of the garden.

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