• TO dispel speculation surrounding the Bassett Street land, I feel the need to clarify misrepresentations made in previous letters to this newspaper:

– Camden only follows the laws and regulations of its housing department, mostly set by the ministry of housing.

– This communal garden is officially demised to 6-60 Bassett Street Estate since its inception in 1972.

– Crucially, the garden has never been managed by, licensed to, or opened to the general public.

– The regeneration of the garden is paid from the housing revenue account, which receives tenants’ rents. This account is totally ring-fenced. Taxpayers’ moneys cannot by law touch it.

In view of the conflicts that arose last year about the future of the garden, the council commissioned an independent organisation to consult exclusively the residents of the estate whose communal garden this is.

On the outcome of that consultation, the council has offered, in good faith, an alternative plot of land for the gardeners to continue their project.

Now it is time we all let it go. Let us stop ruminating about the council or the garden, and let tenants move on in peace.

FERNANDO
Council Tenant in Bassett Street