Outcry as London council forces residents to get rid of 'fire hazard' garden gnomes and pot plants

16 May 2023, 14:08 | Updated: 17 May 2023, 14:31

Residents of a south London estate are in despair after the council began removing plants, benches and garden gnomes from their front gardens for health and safety reasons - despite two reports showing that the green spaces aren't a fire risk.

People living in the Vanbrugh Park Estate, close to Greenwich Park, have been told by Greenwich Council to clear their gardens to allow firefighters easy access to the properties in the event of a fire - even citing the Grenfell Tower tragedy in their reasoning.

Residents of the 1960s estate have small front gardens between their properties and an external walkway. These were specifically designed by the architects to give people areas of outdoor space to call their own, for relaxing, socialising and gardening.

The gardens also are good for insects and birds, help reduce overheating and protect residents’ privacy.

Read more: Mum's fury with flat riddled with mould that even grows on her son's clothes - and she's told the rent is going up by £60

Read more: Disabled veteran who pulled himself up to salute the Queen faces homelessness as council can't find him a house

The council’s own fire safety report from 2020 says that the external escape routes in the case of a fire are "satisfactory", although it mentions the residents’ plant pots.

Another report by an independent expert from this month, commissioned by residents, "identified no need to remove the pot plants and other items immediately outside the flat entrance doors".

Residents say that the estate as it stands is also compliant with UK-wide building rules. Regulations mean there must be at least 90cm of clear passageway for communal access routes in the event of a fire. Communal walkways on the Vanbrugh Park Estate are 160cm wide.

Phin Harper, who lives on the estate, said that this is an example of a "big, top-down project" from a local authority “that actually crushes communities.”

He told LBC: "Councils are under pressure to do more about fire safety. Getting residents to get rid of stuff is looking like you’ve done something without getting anyone to spend any money."

The Labour council sent workers round last week to remove benches and pot plants from a few gardens, and residents fear more is to come.

Greenwich’s cabinet member for housing Pat Slattery told LBC that the council takes its legal duties regarding fire safety very seriously after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, when 72 people died in a tower block blaze in west London.

But Mr Harper said: "It’s just about control, it’s a ‘know your place’ attitude. They’re saying we shouldn’t get above our station."

Meanwhile the council has also not addressed several pressing fire safety issues on the estate, according to its fire safety report - even while officers bother residents about their gardens.

Properties don’t have fire doors, and the council doesn’t know what is in the garages directly below some of the flats, meaning petrol or other flammable chemicals could be stored under where residents sleep.

Mr Harper said that meetings had been promised for some time, but no discussions had taken place.

The council later agreed to meet residents to discuss the issue. People living on the estate said the first talk was "constructive, centring on routes to a compromise."

Alex Wheeler, chair of the Vanbrugh Park Residents Association said: "We are shocked at the council’s draconian treatment of vulnerable residents and refusal to work with our community to agree a sensible way forward.

"Officers are waging an unnecessary war on garden gnomes and pot plants while leaving genuine health and safety issues across the estate unactioned. The flats in question were specifically designed to allow residents plenty of room for plants and outdoor seating while maintaining good, safe access.

"The wholesale destruction of these small gardens would be extremely harmful to the health and wellbeing of residents, would increase the chance of chronic overheating, deplete local biodiversity, reduce residents’ privacy and distract from a historic conservation area.

"The council must think again."

Ms Slatter said that council estate residents' safety is Greenwich's "top priority", adding that the council has "an absolute duty of care to them all."

"We fully understand residents’ wishes to make their outdoor areas attractive, but we need to ensure that there is a safe means of escape from fire, at all times," she added. "In the horrible event of a fire, we need to ensure that fire fighters are not impeded in their work.

"We also need to make sure that escape routes are clear and free from flammable materials. Since the terrible Grenfell fire, current fire safety legislation means that we have a legal duty and we take this very seriously.

"The Council is attending a meeting with residents of the Vanbrugh Park Estate where we will listen to concerns and answer questions, and work with residents to ensure that their estate meets all fire safety requirements."

Estate residents have launched a petition against the garden changes here.