It's sad to report, but there's trouble in paradise
IT IS a shame that community divisions in Hampstead Garden Suburb have surfaced with a vengeance while the Suburb is celebrating its centenary year. The celebrations have been memorable and nothing could overshadow them, not even the inevitable vandalism
IT IS a shame that community divisions in Hampstead Garden Suburb have surfaced with a vengeance while the Suburb is celebrating its centenary year.
The celebrations have been memorable and nothing could overshadow them, not even the inevitable vandalism that blighted the centenary flower bed - just as celebrity resident Jonathan Ross predicted it would.
But recent disputes and legal actions have certainly cast a cloud over the festivities, and now a breakaway group of residents is bidding for control of the Suburb Trust as the row over service charges escalates.
In one way, such division should be welcomed. The Suburb would be a dull place indeed if it was ruled by a select group whose intentions were never challenged.
You may also want to watch:
Such acquiesence would signal a lack of real interest in the Suburb among its inhabitants, and lead to a soul-destroying apathy which in the long terms would be much more dangerous for the long-term future of the Suburb than any amount of discourse and gentlemanly disagreement.
The real shame is that after 100 years, there appears to be no effective forum for the resolution of small domestic disputes of the type that can all too quickly grow out of all proportion if people feel they are excluded from proper debate. Perhaps it is time to look again at the structures of the Suburb, if only to try to avoid the kind of costly and ultimately futile legal exchanges which benefit no-one save the already well-heeled members of the legal profession.
Most Read
- 1 Royal Free ITU nurse who swapped the Caribbean for a Covid ward
- 2 Camden's Levertons to arrange the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17
- 3 Primrose Hill to close at night this weekend after antisocial behaviour
- 4 Hampstead, Highgate and Primrose Hill beer gardens reopening on April 12
- 5 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Wait for second verdict could last 'until Easter'
- 6 The questions council 'must answer' after spending £23m on £10m office
- 7 Hampstead to trial unobtrusive electric vehicle charging points
- 8 How a 'terrifying' Hampstead spree of robberies was brought to an end
- 9 Pressure mounts on Jose Mourinho Spurs as his former club Man United
- 10 Injury concerns spoil Arsenal's win over Sheffield United