← More from My London
A protest has been planned for this weekend against a council decision which could put a locally popular café at risk of closure.
Theo’s Café has been at risk of closure since Hillingdon Council placed the property it sits in - Cowley Meeting Hall - on the market last month. However, it has since been withdrawn from the market following a report by the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS], which found that the council had planned to write off the debt of the leaseholder - a former Tory councillor.
Cafe owner Erhan Sahin alleged to the LDRS that there has been radio silence from Hillingdon Council since withdrawing the property from the market. He said: “So we are still in the public consultation period.
“We have had tremendous support by all the locals and have over 1000 signatures and counting. No one from the council has contacted us in order to come up with a solution which is highly disappointing by them which clearly shows they have no interest in what we are going through.”
The “Save Theo’s Café Demonstration” will take place on Saturday, outside the Café at Cowley Recreation Ground at 10am. Hillingdon Labour say this is to “put pressure” on the council to come to an arrangement.
Hillingdon Council's position remains that it is carefully reviewing the circumstances of this particular case and the lease arrangement, and is exploring all available avenues for resolution, including possible legal action.
The council continues to maintain a position of not commenting on further details relating to the lease due to commercial confidentiality.
Alan Deville has not responded to request for comment.
Have a story you want to share? Email philip.lynch@reachplc.com or @pjlynchjourno on X.
Don't miss out on the biggest West London news. Sign up to our MyWestLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more