Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett’s lament for the untrendy cafe reflects a view held by some that the operators of cafes on Hampstead Heath should never change (I’m sick of avocado toast – I just want to keep my local, untrendy cafe, 12 January). It is a position rooted more in nostalgia than in the practical realities of managing public assets – and it overlooks several inconvenient facts.
The long-standing reliance on short-term arrangements limited the cafes’ ability to invest in buildings, facilities and staff. This had to change. Moving to longer leases is not about change for its own sake, but about providing stability: enabling investment, fair pay and a sustainable future for customers.
The remarketing process was open, competitive – and locally consulted on through our committees, representing local groups and organisations connected to Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park. We received 30 bids, including from existing operators.
Family-run Daisy Green is hardly a faceless multinational. It’s an independent London-based business with a track record of running community cafes across the capital, committed to investment and affordable prices. Like one of the current operators, it began life selling street food at markets. And it does mean that, for the first time, cafe workers on the heath will be paid at least the London living wage by all operators.
What we can all agree on is that these spaces matter, as do all the services across the heath, and we fully recognise the affection in which they are held. We manage the heath as a charity, underwriting it by nearly £12m last year, at no cost to council tax payers. We’re proud to have spent over £2m to upgrade the Parliament Hill athletics track to world-class standards.
It is scarcely a “ruthless pursuit of profit” or even justifiable to describe the City of London Corporation as a “villain”, as one of your readers put it (Letters, 16 January). Our priority is to ensure we have the funds to safeguard a much-loved open space that welcomes 8 million visitors a year.
Alderman Gregory Jones KC
Chair, Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queens Park committee, City of London Corporation
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