Mayor apologises to campaigner who was told to move her pop-up parklet during ‘harmless community event’

Brenda Puech picked up an award in 2019 for her parklets campaign. Photograph: courtesy Brenda Puech

Town Hall bosses have apologised after local campaigner Brenda Puech was asked to move a pop-up parklet set up “for only a few hours” in Hackney.

The incident occurred on a day when Londoners were taking part in what Puech described as a “harmless community event”, which involved people creating temporary gardens in parking spaces.

Puech said she was asked to move her parklet from London Fields West by Hackney’s parking enforcement officers.

She told them she could not move it on her own and that it would take a while for help to arrive.

Her pop-up space was part of a campaign drive on Sunday 25 September to encourage the introduction of more parklets on residential streets across the capital.

Participants in Pop-up Parklets Day say just one in five people in the UK do not have access to a private garden and they want to give people car-free spaces in which to meet up.

Puech was surprised that parking enforcement paid a visit to the parklet, which was “only going to be there for a few hours”.

“I did not get a ticket,” she said. “It’s a harmless community event.”

The People’s Parking Bay set up by Brenda Puech in 2018. Photograph: Brenda Puech

On parklets, she added: “It’s a very easy way to meet people and create those chance encounters to lift up people’s spirits.”

She would like to see an easy way for residents to set up temporary spaces without having to pay huge fees.

Among the visitors to Puech’s space was poet Robert Still, who shared a poem with other visitors and talked about how bereavement had left him feeling isolated.

He said: “The parklet made me feel connected to society – I often feel lonely after my mother died.”

He praised the event as “a great example of community spirit that we need more of”.

Puech mentioned what had happened on social media and Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville tweeted that he could “only apologise”.

The Town Hall’s transport and public realm boss Cllr Mete Coban also apologised to Puech on Twitter and said he would raise the issue with officers.

Puech set up the parklets campaign in 2018. Her People’s Parking Bay in London Fields was a patch of artificial grass with cycle parking, flowerpots, a bench and a sign that read ‘You’re welcome to park yourself in the bay’. Residents filled five visitor books within four weeks.

Hackney Council later asked for the parklet to be removed and a year later launched a parklet permit process that allows residents to create one on their street.

The pop-up parklet on Sandrigham Road. Photograph: Zoë Garbett / Twitter

Cllr Zoë Garbett (Green) helped set up a pop-up parklet on Sandringham Road in Dalston for the event last Sunday.

She said there is no current way to apply to set up a temporary parklet despite residents and community groups being supportive of the idea, as well as the many interested in creating permanent ones.

A third pop-up parklet was created on the Nightingale estate in Hackney Downs, with local councillor Alastair Binnie-Lubbock (Green) joining residents in setting it up.

A Hackney Council spokesman said: “An enforcement officer visited the pop up parklet in response to a complaint by a resident. When the officer arrived and spoke to the organisers, they were informed that the initiative was part of Parklets Day and that the parklet would be cleared away shortly.

“As a result no further action was taken, but we apologise if there was any confusion on the day.

“Parklets help to rebuild a greener Hackney by repurposing a parking spaces into areas that can be enjoyed by local residents – reducing the dominance of cars.

“We welcome the organisers commitment to supporting the creation of Parklets, however there is a process we need to go through to suspend parking bays for other use to ensure that motorists are fully aware that it is not in use at a specific time.

“Hackney Council is one of the only London boroughs that has a permanent community parklet programme where residents, local groups and businesses can apply to install a parklet where there is local support.

“We are more than happy to work with the organisers to look at where we can introduce more parklets across the borough in the future. Anyone who wants to register their interest in a parkletscheme can do so on our website hackney.gov.uk/parklets.”

Update: this article was amended at 6pm on 29 September 2022 to include comment from Hackney Council.