Lene Godfrey and Gideon Barnett where the bench was

A COUPLE who built a bench around a tree in Bloomsbury have been forced to remove it under council orders.

Lene Godfrey said the seating in John Street had been well used and brought people together.

“It was so lovely. Probably about 100 plus people a day sat on it,” Ms Godfrey said. “People would sit there – they’d have complete different walks of life – just having a conversation. I thought I really liked that. A lot of builders had their lunch break there. They loved the bench.”

The bench put up in John Street which Camden Council said had to go

Ms Godfrey was instructed to remove the bench by the council because she had not sought their permission before putting it up.

But a council spokesperson said Camden was encouraging residents of John Street to make an application to the council so that a permanent bench for this location can be considered.

“Each request will be considered by our teams working in the local community and on our highways,” the Town Hall said.