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by ROISIN GADELRAB
 
War of the roses as café is told to stop selling flowers

Petition urges rethink of 'blooming crazy' flower selling ban


Renzo with his flower display which he has been forced to remove
AN organic café owner has been banned from selling flowers by Camden Council after a rival florist objected to the competition.
The Town Hall last week insisted the owner of Wild Organic in Prince of Wales Road, Primrose Hill, remove the offending blooms immediately as it had to “protect competition in the area”.
The ban on Renzo Khan was implemented three months after he started his flower-selling enterprise. Now 57 of his customers have signed a petition backing the former Harrods window-dresser’s right to sell the blooms.
Renzo said: “I’m a new business, I’m not selling drugs, I’m helping the community. Valentines Day is coming up. My customers have already ordered from me, they’ve already paid. They will be very disappointed. This is not a good message from Camden Council.”
The council says the flowers are in contravention of his lease.
Renzo, an interior designer, who only began selling the blooms at the request of his customers, says he has been told by Camden’s property services division not to bother applying to change his lease as any request will be turned down.
He said: “On Kentish Town Road, off-licenses are open 24 hours, coffee shops are given permission to open next to each other. My shop is far away from the other florist – you can’t even see it from here.”
A Camden Council spokeswoman said: “The council has received a complaint from a florist located near the Wild Organic Café pertaining to the fact that they are selling flowers. In order to protect existing businesses within the same area from competition, the council has therefore asked the Wild Organic to stop selling flowers with immediate effect.”
Asked about the Town Hall’s policy to protect businesses, the spokeswoman refused to comment further.
She did add that Renzo was welcome to apply to change his lease. She said: “The lease provided by the council states the requirements and terms for the trade run on the premises. The leaseholder is in possession of a written document stating the guidelines for the business which can be run on the premises.”
Neighbours have come out in their droves to support Renzo, writing letters to the New Journal and putting their names to his petition. Teacher Amanda Trevor-Roberts, who lives in Hadley Street, said: “This shop has transformed our lives. It’s one of the few shops that sells healthy food rather than alcohol. The flowers really make the street look pretty.
“It can be a bit threatening sometimes round here but they made it more welcoming.”
Comments written on the petition, which was started last week, included “the shop adds something beautiful and positive to our streets” and “the flowers and shopfront really lift the spirits of the community”.
One signatory asked: “Instead of minding the flowers, why not concentrate on more serious matters which cause trouble in Prince of Wales Road?”
 
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