Council U-Turn On Hanwell Flower Shop Fine

Penalty notice for Floral Creations cancelled after local outrage

( pics courtesy Liz Jenner)

Ealing Council has cancelled a £100 fine handed to a Hanwell shopkeeper who had breached the trading licence with a floral display.

The shop - Floral Creations on Hanwell Broadway was visited by Ealing's council enforcement officers last week and delivered the penalty to manager Harold Ong for contravening the street trading licence by having flowers extend over 1m from the shop frontage.

Floral Creations is next door to the boarded up Duke of York and opposite Hanwell Clocktower which has been the location for regular anti-social activities. Mr Ong cleans the area daily of debris and detrius left by the street drinkers and drug users, who, as far as he is aware, have not received any fines for littering.

News of the fine was met with local anger and many residents complained to the council.

A council spokesperson told Ealing Today:

“The head of this service contacted Mr Winter ( the shop owner) today and following this conversation we have decided to cancel the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN), even though the fine was legally valid.

 “We took into account the fact that no complaints have been made about the display and we are satisfied that the flowers were not causing a hazard for passers-by at the time.

 “We have reminded Mr Winter of the space he is able to use under his current licence and the steps he can take if he wants to apply for a larger display area.

 “The efforts of local businesses to keep our public spaces litter-free is clearly something to be applauded and tackling antisocial behaviour across the borough continues to be a top priority for the council.

 “We have listened to residents’ concerns about street drinking in Hanwell town centre and worked with both the police and the local community to identify persistent offenders - issuing them with injunctive orders to curb irresponsible behaviour. We are also looking into the possibility of a borough wide public spaces protection order (PSPO) to improve the quality of life for all our residents.

 “We have a zero tolerance policy on dropping litter and have hit more than 3,700 local offenders with FPNs since the start of 2018, and successfully prosecuted 633 individuals last year.”

This isn't the first time Ealing Council has hit the headlines over its penalty fines, last year they apologised after a woman was given a fine for pouring coffee down a drain and in another incident a resident was accused of ' fly-tipping' after leaving additional recycling outside her home.

4th June 2018