Humdingers owner Robert Hunningher has created a vibrant garden space at the Hornsey Road café

A CAFÉ owner with an award-winning garden has said his efforts are constantly being thwarted by criminals and licensing laws.

Humdingers in Hornsey Road won “Best Bloom­ing Business” at the 2022 Islington in Bloom awards, but its vibrant garden is continually subject to threats from thieves and the council, said owner Robert Hunningher.

A yellow cherry tree was stolen on Saturday night, the latest in a series of plant thefts.

Mr Hunningher told the Tribune: “We’ve had people sleeping in here, people nicking plants, everything. The reason I bought the yellow ones was because they’re a bit more spikey. This made me buy plants that if you grab it you’re going to hurt your hand. It’s a bit rubbish, I’d rather not do that.”

He added: “The trees I think are worth £80 to some people, because they can sell it. But I think it’s mainly just destruc­tion. All the shopkeepers feel a bit let down by the council not doing their job properly. I think there should be constant community support officers around here. We had one great one when we first moved in, but he died of cancer.”

A CCTV image of the Humdingers garden

The café owner said that criminality was not the only threat to the garden, as they had recently been embroiled in a battle with the council over placement of the planters. He said: “The whole point is that this land comes with the shop and the council have come along after lock­down and said now we need a licence.”

He added: “They were saying ‘you have to take away the pots and you’re not allowed to use this area anymore’. It comes with the property so this belongs to us. It just makes no sense at all why they’re doing that. I told them, ‘I’m just going to close down the shop because what’s the point’. There’s no point, I’ll just make it into a flat for myself.

“Then we started arguing and they got their management involved. Now they have actually given us a licence, but the fact is that we have to pay for a licence and they can take it away at any time.”

Mr Hunningher, whose mother won Islington gardening competitions and published books on the subject, put pots and trees around the outside seating area of his café four years ago in an effort to bring more oxygen and bees to the street.

He added: “It’s really nice, it reminds me of Mum. We’ve got cherry, we’ve got apple, and we’ve got pear. We’ve got pea shoots and runner beans. The whole idea is that you walk past and you can get something free to eat.”

In his latest community effort, Mr Hunningher is now offering the use of the café for free for creatives who would like to put on events.

Councillor Rowena Champion, Islington’s environment chief, said: “We welcome Humdingers’ efforts to make the area outside their premises greener and more attractive. Sadly, plant theft does occur in Islington and across London, and we under­stand how frustrating it is when plants are stolen, and how disheartening this can be when people have spent time and money to create a green space. Our anti-social behaviour team, alongside the Met police, work hard to prevent theft.

“We’ve been speaking with Humdingers about their planters, and are pleased that they have moved these within the area of their pavement licence.”