Michael Vasili salvaged the bench from a closed down pub

A BARBER in Kentish Town is campaigning to bring back a bench that stood outside his shop for 15 years until Camden Council said he must pay £500 to keep it there.

More than 100 people have signed Michael Vasili’s petition to reinstate the seat outside George’s, a barber shop at the top of Kentish Town Road that was set up by his father, George Vasili, in 1989.

“We’ve had it out there for a very long time and we let anyone sit on it,” Mr Vasili said of the bench, which he salvaged from a closing-down pub and stripped back to its original wood.

“Some customers use it when they want to wait outside, but it’s also for people who walk past, especially elderly people. They’ll sit down and have a chat, and it really helps them out. It makes the road look nice, it’s for the community, and now they’re taking it away.”

Michael Vasili at George’s

A sign in the window of George’s – is that Sir Keir Starmer?

The problems began two weeks ago when a council enforcement officer came into George’s and said the bench could only remain in place at the cost of £500, with an annual renewal fee of £350.

Mr Vasili removed the bench straight away, but has since started a petition to reinstate it and he has gathered five handwritten pages of names and signatures in less than a week.

“We’re a family business. To suddenly be told it’s going to be another £500? I wouldn’t pay it,” he said. “Do I have to pay to sit outside for fresh air now?”

He added: “It’s like they’re attacking the businesses, but without us working in here 9am to 7pm every day there’s no high street. When I came here 20 years ago, there weren’t a lot of shops in this part of the high street and we helped to make it better for Kentish Town. We’re making the community a community.”

How the bench as it looks outside the shop

When not working in the barber shop, Mr Vasili is a keen metal detectorist who can spend hours scouring a farm in Hertfordshire for medieval coins, Roman buttons and Bronze Age treasures at the weekends.

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate this bench is well-loved by the local community and hope it continues to be. As it sits on the public highway, a pavement licence is required by law, with annual costs in Camden in line with other London boroughs.

“We will continue to work to ensure that the same regulations apply fairly and consistently across the borough.”