Killjoy council removes 89-year-old grandmother's bench after 'complaints of anti-social behaviour'

An 89-year-old grandmother has been left devastated after a council removed a bench from her beloved street garden amid a row over 'anti-social behaviour'. Katharine Hoskyns, from north-west London, transformed the concrete outside her home in St John's Wood into a green space more than 25 years ago. The mother-of-three and retired teacher has filled the area with pots of tomatoes, geraniums and herbs, as well as a bench where neighbours can sit and chat. She decided to create the oasis after the Westminster City Council (WCC) installed parking spaces where she once had a 'nice' patch of grass. However, WCC has now removed the bench following a 'series of complaints from residents' that the street garden is attracting 'anti-social behaviour'. Ms Hoskyns, who was issued a formal notice to remove the bench in July, launched a petition and claims she was in ongoing negotiations with the council. However, when she woke up on Sunday, October 25, the bench was gone. WCC said in a statement the bench has 'attracted anti-social behaviour at night' and that it had a 'responsibility to listen to residents' and take 'appropriate action'. Katharine Hoskyns, 89, is pictured at the spot where the bench in her beloved street garden once stood before it was removed by her local council following 'multiple complaints' Ms Hoskyns (right) is seen enjoying the bench with her sister-in-law Catherine Hoskyns before it was removed by the council while she was inside over a rainy weekend in OctoberMs Hoskyns said: 'I wanted to keep the bench because it is what makes it nice. We are going to try and contest it. We are going to try and fight this. 'The neighbours volunteer and help a lot. It is a community thing as well as for me.'I have got loads of supporters who want it to stay.'The council's original letter argued that fallen pots could cause injury and the bench had not been confirmed to be 'structurally safe'. Ms Hoskyns claims there is only one neighbour who objects to her street garden. She said: 'They thought there was anti-social behaviour on the bench. There is no anti-social behaviour.'I love it because I can go and potter around with my pots and people come up and talk to me. It is nice and sociable.'I was really upset when I got the letter. It doesn't cause obstruction. There is plenty of room for a wheelchair.' Ms Hoskyns claims there is only one neighbour who objects to her street garden (pictured) The retired teacher and mother-of-three transformed the concrete outside her home into an inviting green space more than 25 years ago but has only recently received complaintsMs Hoskyns, who has lived in the area since the 1960s, replied to the letter with help from her family and attached a petition signed by over 60 locals. She said that a few weeks ago the council responded and said she could keep the plants as long as she removed the bench. However, the authority then allegedly backtracked and told her she would need to 'gradually lessen' the number of pot plants. She organised to meet with WCC in November in the hope of starting formal negotiations, but before this could happen, the bench was taken. WCC said they 'regret that it has come to this' and offered to return the bench to Ms Hoskyns's back garden. Ms Hoskyns claims that she doesn't have room in her garden for it, and that she paid for it with her own money and would like it returned. She said: 'We thought we might just put another one in, or put something else in like chairs so that it is not a bench.'The area would be horrible without them, you really would start to get problems.'She is now working with her family to figure out the next steps. WCC said in a statement: 'This bench has attracted antisocial behaviour at night, including drug use, and the council has received repeated complaints from residents and has evidence of the problems over many years.'Despite extensive efforts to find an amicable solution, including offering to relocate the bench, no agreement could be reached and we have a responsibility to listen to residents and take appropriate action.'We regret that it has come to this and would be happy to return the bench to Katharine's garden.'