Fury As Hanwell Flower Shop Fined For Floral Display
Floral Creations given penalty fine for breaching licence
( pics courtesy Liz Jenner)
There's been outrage and disbelief from locals in Hanwell after a local shopkeeper was handed a £100 fine for his floral display.
The shop - Floral Creations on Hanwell Broadway was visited by Ealing's council enforcement officers yesterday who delivered the penalty to 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.
He says '' I'm very surprised to get this penalty as we have been displaying on the pavement for over 6 months and just want the area to look as nice as it can.'
He's been supported by local residents who are appalled that the council has picked on what they regard as a soft target whilst failing to do anything about the many problems with anti-social behaviour (ASB)in the area.
Many people have been angered over the fine with comments on the local social media page calling Ealing Council ' petty and stupid' and asking ' what happened to common sense?'
Others have asked: ''Why is Ealing Council incapable of tackling the daily ASB up at the Broadway and yet it finds the resources to send the enforcement team down to issue a fine''
Locals want the fine waived but are prepared to contribute to help pay it if necessary.
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.
We are awaiting a statement from Ealing Council.
1st June 2018