# Westminster removes St John’s Wood garden bench after anti-social behaviour complaints

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/killjoy-council-removes-89-year-old-grandmothers-bench-after-complaints-of-anti-social-behaviour/
- Published: 2026-11-02T10:02:20+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T10:12:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16258131/grandmother-street-garden-london-council-neighbour.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Entertainment, Space, Technology, TV, UK, World

## Key points

- Council removes an 89-year-old’s garden bench after complaints.
- More than 60 locals signed a petition supporting the garden.
- Hoskyns disputes the complaints and plans to contest the decision.

## Summary

Westminster City Council has removed an 89-year-old resident’s bench from a planted street garden in St John’s Wood, citing repeated complaints about anti-social behaviour. Katharine Hoskyns created the green space more than 25 years ago, and says it gives neighbours a place to talk and has community support.

Hoskyns says she was discussing the issue with the council and had submitted a petition signed by more than 60 local people, but the bench was removed before a planned November meeting. The council says the bench attracted night-time anti-social behaviour, including drug use, and that it had evidence of problems over many years; it also raised safety concerns about fallen pots and the bench’s structure. It offered to return the bench to her back garden, which she says has no room for it.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.