January 2026

Dear reader 

Hampstead Heath is enjoyed by millions of people from all backgrounds, both locally and across the world, every year. 

The City of London Corporation manages Hampstead Heath as a registered charity, at no cost to council taxpayers, investing nearly £12 million of its own funds in the last financial year to keep the Heath open, safe and thriving for future generations. As trustee, we always act in the best interests of the Charity, uphold proper governance, and support those entrusted with serving the public on the Heath. 

It is therefore deeply disappointing that, in recent weeks, a small number of individuals appear 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. 

They were successfully selected on the strength of their overall proposal, including their commitment to invest heavily in these green spaces. 

Daisy Green is a family-run, award winning, independent business appointed to operate cafés on the Heath following a lawful and open process with over 30 submissions including the current operators. 

The negative behaviour by some individuals towards City of London Corporation staff and Daisy Green feels 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. 

The café remarketing exercise was open, competitive and independently supported. Daisy Green was selected against several other bids on the strength of their 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. 

The Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee, which includes representatives from local community groups and charities connected to the Heath, were engaged on the process. 

The campaign opposing the decision relating to all five cafés is being fronted by Hoxton Beach, the current operator of three of the cafés across North London Open Spaces. 

This campaign does not have the support of the other café operators — D’Auria Brothers, the current operators of Parliament Hill Café, or Cosmin Stuparu, the current operator of Golders Hill Park Café and future operator of Highgate Wood Café. 

Hoxton Beach is also pursuing crowd-funded legal action against the City of London Corporation — the sole trustee of the charity that manages not only Hampstead Heath, but also 11,000 acres of open space across London and the southeast, for the public benefit and at no cost to the taxpayer. 

Donations are being sought for the campaign on the basis that the funds will support legal action on behalf of all café operators – legal action that is not supported by the other operators. As a result, some people may be contributing under a mistaken understanding of who they are supporting, and for what purpose. 

It is striking to me that some people, whose local council tax does not fund the maintenance and upkeep of the Heath, are willing to financially support this case and the interests of a commercial business, rather than consider supporting the Charity itself. It is also concerning that many thousands of people may have inadvertently signed the petition without appreciating all the facts of the matter or the tactics being employed by the campaigners. 

Every pound diverted into legal disputes is a pound that cannot be spent on picking litter, clearing paths, pruning trees, maintaining facilities and conserving nature. It is difficult to reconcile claims of protecting the Heath, and the communities it serves, when there are malicious efforts to financially undermine the very charity that preserves it. 

Despite the organised intimidation they have faced, Daisy Green has acted constructively and in good faith: engaging positively with the other café operators, committing to retaining existing staff and paying them the London Living Wage – ensuring that this will now be paid to all cafe workers on the Heath, purchasing equipment from current operators where possible, and reaching an agreement with the D’Auria Brothers to continue supplying the Parliament Hill ice cream counter as well as other Daisy Green venues. 

Unfortunately, that same willingness to engage has deliberately not been reciprocated by Hoxton Beach despite repeated efforts by the incoming operator. 

It is dispiriting to hear of campaigners that are not in receipt of these facts going out of their way to other Daisy Green locations, encouraging existing clientele to support a misleading campaign, seeking to film them at the premises, and spreading lies about the viability of their business. 

Disagreement is legitimate. Harassment is not. The dishonest tactics and spreading of lies needs to end. 

I ask everyone who cares about Hampstead Heath to reflect on how they engage with our dedicated teams of staff on the Heath and across the City Corporation to ensure the Heath remains a place defined by respect, fairness and community – not by division, threats, bullying or intimidation. 

Yours, 

Alderman Gregory Jones KC 
Chair of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park Committee 
City of London Corporation