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Garden Rules
All residents, and their guests are required to respect the Gloucester Square Garden Rules. Further explanations are viewable by clicking the blue down-arrow to the right of each rule.
This Garden is for the sole use of valid keyholders and guests that accompany said keyholder (Users).
The right to use the Garden is reserved exclusively to the long-term residents of the ratepaying properties that have for many years paid, and continue to pay, to maintain and improve said Garden ("Users").
Keyholders are contractually forbidden from loaning or copying their key-fob under any circumstances.
Any individual facilitating or benefiting-from unauthorised-access-to/use-of the Garden could be breaking the law under Section 11 of the 2006 Fraud Act: Obtaining Services Dishonestly.
The Garden Committee reserve the right to pursue private action against such individuals and/or report their behaviour to the relevant authorities.
The Garden is an everchanging environment. Anyone entering the Garden and using its facilities does so at their own risk.
Whilst the Committee make every effort to maintain the garden as a safe and pleasant environment for all, we can’t control every element of nature nor human behaviour. It is not practical for us to fund 24/7 security.
Garden Users are therefore responsible for remaining vigilant in the Garden, and reporting any issues to do with the Garden, furniture, playground and/or rubbish to the Committee through the various contact forms (including this website).
The Garden Gates must not be left or propped open for any reason.
Forcing the gates to remain open not only can damage the gas closer, but also compromises the safety and security of Garden Users, along with the 13 properties that directly border the Square. It is therefore strictly forbidden.
No user of the Garden should disturb another user’s quiet enjoyment thereof (incl. no discernible music).
This is one of the founding rules that can found in both the Estate Management Scheme and the Leases of the unenfranchised houses.
Users are expected to behave in a manner befitting a shared space, leaving reasonable distance to other Garden Users wherever practical, and adjusting their conduct to avoid disturbing others.
This contractual requirement has numerous connotations for how the rest of the Garden should be governed, impacting Music, Events and Ball Games in particular.
Users should not walk into the flowerbeds or border hedges; Trees, Plants, Wildlife Features, Lighting and Seasonal Decorations must not be disturbed.
Trampling into the flowerbeds not only causes £100s of plants and irrigation-system damage each year, it also exposes residents to unnecessary risks.
In 2024 one of our Gardeners trod on a hidden, subterranean wasps nest in one of the beds, and was stung 12+ times. Foxes also dig holes in the flower beds throughout the year, which can represent a dangerous trip-hazard to those operating in the area.
Further hazards are common along the railings, where people throw objects such as used condoms, excrement, bottles of urine, and even bladed objects into the Garden. We are fortunate to have a good 3m+ buffer zone along the railings, but it is important Garden Users don’t enter this or any other flower beds.
No Pets are allowed in the Garden.
Known as the “No Dogs” rule in many London Squares, the Gloucester Square Garden Committee expand this to “No Pets”, to account for the unlikely but not impossible (ponies, goats, pigs, komodo dragons, pythons, etc). It also clearly extends to accompanied / walked cats, though we do not pursue cats wondering into the Garden under their own initiative.
This is clearly a divisive rule, with Pet owning families citing their diminished benefit/use/utility of the Garden as a result of this policy (they spend less time in the Garden as it means leaving their pet alone at home). Meanwhile other ratepayers have noted the presence of pets (/potentially their faeces) in the Garden would reduce their (those ratepayers) benefit/use/utility of the Garden were the rule to change.
The purpose of this explanation is not to relitigate the issue, or present comprehensive arguments for either side, merely to explain the strength of feelings on either side of the “No pets” rule, and explain it can only be fair if applied consistently across all Pets, so not to show one family and their particular pet, preference over another family and their pet.
The subject is tabled on a near annual basis during Committee Meetings, though recent votes have decided to maintain the no pets policy.
Regardless of the strength of feeling on either side of the debate, the “No Pets” rule remains active, and has been enforced robustly (with bans and fines issued to repeat offenders over recent years).
Any gathering of 15+ people (18 months or older) is an event and requires prior approval from the Committee. See the Events pagefor more details.
Whilst many Garden Squares ban gathering of groups of people altogether (sometimes as low as 8 or more people), the Committee believe it would be a shame to deprive Garden Users of the opportunity to host events in the Square. However, any such events must be approved in advance by the Committee (see the Events Section for further details on how to request an event).
There are many logical reasons to set a threshold for when a gathering in the Garden becomes an “event”, and requiring an additional donation to the Garden in return for hosting. However to summarise perhaps the most critical 4 reasons:
Firstly, there are more ratepayers than there are prime days for hosting an event in the Garden, that’s before we consider the ratepayers wishing to host more than one event during the summer. A transparent approval mechanism (first come first served) and financial donation are required to prevent clashes between events and too many events a year.
Secondly, the hosting of events in the Garden represents an increased Benefit, Utility and Use of/from the Garden for the host, not considered under the Garden’s apportionment model for ratepayers. A financial makeweight is required to balance the benefits the host is drawing from the Garden.
Thirdly, events also stand to diminish the Benefit, Utility and use of/from the Garden for other ratepayers for the duration of the event, from setting-up to taking-down, again not considered under the Garden’s apportionment model. The donations received lessen the demands expected from other ratepayers.
Fourthly, events as a whole can cause noise or disruption not in-keeping with the Quiet Enjoyment clause outlined in the Leases, Estate Management Scheme, and these rules. Larger events are expected to provide larger donations and deposits to compensate ratepayers for the disruption.
As such, the Committee are fully committed to the currents events policy which raises over a thousand pounds a year for the Garden. Any Users found to be wilfully disregarding the events policy will be fined and may face a suspension of access.
Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an Adult (18 years of age or older).
We have been advised that from both a practicality and liability perspective, Children under the age of 12 can’t be reasonably expected to read or adhere to signage, recognise clear dangers and/or supervise other children. It is therefore not appropriate for Children under the age of 12 to wander the Garden unsupervised.
It is the responsibility of the Garden Users allowing children under the age of 12 into the Garden, to ensure those children are both accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult aged 18 years or older.
No more than 2 children between the age of 12 to 16 may congregate in the Garden without supervision by an accompanying Adult (18 years of age or older).
Whilst otherwise softening the requirements regarding older children, the Committee considered this specific condition necessary, after numerous examples of overly boisterous behaviour by groups of unsupervised young-teenagers in the Garden that resulted in complaints and/or damage to the Garden.
Many Garden Squares blanket ban any unsupervised children (no “under 16”, “under 18”, etc) altogether. However, the Gloucester Square Committee appreciate many children from the age of 12 and up are given a high degree of independence in their daily lives, and as such permit smaller groups of children in this age range to make responsible use of the Garden
For groups of 3 or more children however, we do not consider it unreasonable to require Adult supervision.
Ball Games are only allowed for children under the age of 12, providing lightweight plastic balls are used. See the dedicated Ball Sports page for details on permitted balls / activites
The use of regular sports balls, such as footballs, rugby balls, basket balls and cricket balls, cause £100s to £1,000s of damage to the Garden's plants each year.
Whilst such damage is all the worse during matches where children and adults have been oft-known to charge into the beds and fight for a ball (with scant regard for the plants they trample on / hack away at), it also occurs every time a heavy, relatively hard ball hits the flowers and shrubs around the Garden. The common theme is the type of ball used, not how many people are using said ball (be it 1 or 22).
Ball sports, even kickarounds between two people, can also take up an obnoxiously large proportion of our square, and impact the quiet enjoyment of the square for other residents
It is for this reason ball games are outright banned in so many Garden Squares. Few of those Gardens have green spaces like Hyde Park right on their doorstep, far more suited to football practice / matches.
The Committee (that includes members with Children/Grandchildren making regular use of the Garden) do not want to ban ball sports outright. It is for this reason we have introduced clear guidelines on the types of Lightweight-plastic/PVC/Foam balls that may be used in the Garden.
Similar rules are in place in school playgrounds up and down the country, without unduly compromising the enjoyment of the children / teenagers forced to use the lightweight pvc sports balls.
These lightweight balls travel less far, are less likely to enter the flower beds, and even when they do, rarely cause damage. This rule enhances the quiet enjoyment of the garden for all ratepayers, not least by preserving the quality of planting.
This rule has been in place in its current form since 2022, and the Committee will be robustly implementing it going forward, with fines and suspensions for wilful breaches.
Personal Items must not be left unattended in the Garden for more than 2hrs. After 2hrs such items may be removed and destroyed without notice or liability.
In the past the Garden has suffered from a small subset of residents using their personal effects to reserve their favourite spot in the Garden in the morning, before returning in the late afternoon to sunbathe.
The Committee do not consider that a fair or sustainable way to govern the Garden, that should be available in its entirety to those Users in the Garden at any point. The reserving of space in the Garden also leads to clutter that can make the Garden look tatty.
The expectation is that Users should not leave any personal effects in the Garden, unattended for more 2 hours. Any such items can be moved, repositioned, removed or even destroyed without notice or liability.
The Committee will by default side with Garden Users that have moved abandoned personal effects (left for 2+ hours), over the User that abandoned said items, in breach of the rules.
Garden Furniture must not be climbed on, exercised with or used for any other unintended purpose.
Put simply, ratepayers are not funding a gym, nor do they expect the features in the Garden to be damaged by adults using said features improperly.
The benches, tables, chairs, playground and trellis-archways are for sitting and/or enjoying the Garden. They are not designed for adults to jump on, swing from, or attach resistance bands to. They are not makeshift exercise equipment, and using them in this way will inevitably lead to damage.
We typically spend £100s a year cleaning and or repairing furniture and other Garden features that have been used for sports / exercising purposes. Multiple memorial benches (dedicated to former residents) have been written off due to cracked seating-rails, that more likely than not, were cracked by adults using the bench for box-jumps.
Again, many Garden Squares have just decided to ban Personal Trainers, having found that the most effective way to reduce damage. The Gloucester Square Garden Committee would prefer not to restrict Garden Users that way, though need to be unequivocal in that whilst Garden Users are welcome to exercise in the Garden, it should be with their own bodyweight, or equipment they bring into the garden, not with the features of the Garden itself.
Users must not leave rubbish or mess behind after their visit – please use the bins provided or take waste home.
Rubbish attracts vermin into the Garden. For this reason, all of the bins around the Garden are vermin-resistant, with closing flaps. Great strides have been made over the last 2-3 years in ensuring the bins are regularly emptied and the waste removed from site, however these efforts are undermined on the odd occasion where residents leave waste in the open on leaving the garden.
No fires or BBQs may be used in the Garden without the Committee’s prior approval. Fireworks are forbidden.
The Garden’s extensive tree canopy (protected by the Local Authority) makes it too risky to host bonfires or fireworks inside the Garden.
Uncontrolled Fires and BBQs would not only represent a hazard to other Garden Users, but also diminish those users quiet enjoyment of the Garden.
As part of the Events policy, smaller controlled fires / heating / cooking-equipment may be allowed in the Garden, under strict conditions (such as being in specific, cordoned areas), along with fee and deposit – though only with the advanced written approval of the Committee
The Garden Committee Reserve the right to issue predetermined fines, recover costs and restrict access where keyholders fail to observe the rules.
Rules can only be fair if all Garden Users adhere to them, otherwise those disregarding the rules gain additional benefit/use/utility of the Garden, unfairly. Garden Users are contractually obliged to follow the rules set by the duly elected Garden Committee.
Wilful disregard of the Garden Rules is therefore a breach of contract, though the Committee consider termination of contract, i.e. permanent revocation of access (on these grounds), as an absolute last resort.
Instead the Garden Committee issue temporary suspensions or fines as a much less severe alternative to permanent revocation, and to compensate both the Garden Committee and other Garden Users when an individual wilfully disregards the rules.
The threshold for what constitutes a wilful breach, is low, as all Garden Ratepayers are reminded of the rules in regular communications, the rules are clearly and concisely stated on the Garden’s notice boards, and feature prominently on the Gloucester Square Website.
Nevertheless, in certain instances the Garden Committee may decide to issue a warning, only, if the rule breach is from a new resident who hasn’t previously breached the rules, and the breach itself is considered minor.