A fresh wave of local outrage has hit Hampstead Heath as the custodianship of four cherished, family-run cafes is handed to a corporate chain, reigniting a long-running battle over the soul of one of London's most beloved green spaces.
History Repeats Itself on the Heath
The current dispute, highlighted in a recent Guardian article by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, mirrors a near-identical controversy from 2016. Back then, the City of London Corporation proposed taking the Parliament Hill cafe from the D'Auria family and awarding it to the Benugo chain. The initial decision, passed by just one vote, sparked a predictable and fierce public backlash.
Virginia Rounding, then chair of the Hampstead Heath management committee, voted against the move. She recalls being confronted by angry protesters at a meeting chaired by the local MP, Keir Starmer. "I decided not to carry on defending a policy I didn't believe in," Rounding writes. Her efforts, combined with strong public feeling, led to the decision being overturned and Benugo withdrawing.
The New Corporate Player: Daisy Green
This time, the chain in question is Daisy Green, an Australian-inspired group. Despite publicly claiming it is not a chain, Daisy Green operates around 20 outlets and boasts an annual turnover exceeding £22 million. As one reader, Don Keller, points out: "It may not be Starbucks, but it's still a big corporate, and far from the friendly, family-run cafes that heath users value so highly."
The City Corporation, which manages the heath, is again at the centre of the storm. Critics accuse it of seeking to transform the heath from a public benefit into a revenue-generating enterprise, squeezing out local operators to reduce its own funding burden. Keller argues the corporation "should be ashamed of itself" and calls on Daisy Green to follow Benugo's example and walk away from the contract.
A Pattern of Loss and Community Resistance
The issue transcends Hampstead Heath, symbolising a nationwide trend where unique local businesses are displaced by homogenised chains. The emotional response is profound, with locals valuing the familiarity, character, and community connection offered by family-run establishments.
Bill McGinley drew a poignant parallel with a 1959 Hancock's Half Hour episode, Fred's Pie Stall, which humorously tackled the enforced closure of a local institution—a testament to how long this struggle has been part of British cultural life.
Virginia Rounding had hoped the 2016 reversal would serve as a permanent lesson for the Corporation, warning of the danger in letting "financial planners and their spreadsheets trump every other consideration." The recurrence of the dispute suggests those warnings went unheeded, leaving regular users of the heath's "unique range of cafes" fighting a familiar battle to preserve the local character they cherish.
