Gran’s 12-year fight to have five 6ft boxes removed from blocking her restaurant

A gran who has faced a 12-year battle to have five 6ft telecom boxes removed from outside her restaurant has been told they are here to stay.

Debbie Monfries, 64, says the boxes have ruined trade because customers can’t see the Umana Yana restaurant in Herne Hill, south London.

She has been complaining to Southwark Council since 2012 and has even receivedfamous backing from rapper Central Cee.

The council says government rules mean telecom companies can install boxes without planning permission from the council.

Debbie is now complaining to her local MP Helen Hayes about the issue and says she suffered a heart attack over it in 2020.

She said: ‘Before the boxes were installed, our annual revenue was between £70,000 and £80,000. After they were put there, it dropped to around £30,000.

‘This was almost immediate. There was a clear link.

‘We’ve never been able to recover from it. It’s been so stressful.’

She recalled having the heart attack in 2020 and said: ‘It was really, really hard. It’s emotional to think about.’

The restaurant owner is also angry that a decision on the matter took 12 years.

At the planning committee meeting held on October 8, a council officer said it was the ‘worst case’ he’d ever seen.

But when asked if the council would be removing them, he said ‘no’ and said they had been installed ‘lawfully’.

Debbie said: ‘They could have given me some options – maybe helped me relocate. But now, there are no options.

‘It’s too expensive to move. It’s too expensive to do anything. So I feel like I am trapped in a situation that’s not going to get better.

‘I’m only able to keep going because I’ve been taking my food to markets to sell.

‘But I’m 64. I can’t keep running around London in order to pay my rent. It’s making my life harder.

‘I should be able to run my restaurant without being forced to do this.’

Since her story went out on social media though Debbie has received a lot of support from locals and also Central Cee who has donated £15,000 to her.

He has also appeared alongside Debbie in a recent video shoot and it shows her teaching him to make Guyanese food.

Debbie also thanked locals and said: ‘The customers who know about me support me and love the restaurant.

‘I was born in Guyana and so I cook authentic Guyanese food. When I started, I was filling a gap in the London market.

‘I just hope I can continue to do so.’

Councillor Helen Dennis, said of the case: ‘We have been in support of the Umana Yana campaign – trying to facilitate a resolution with the telecom companies over a number of years whereby they remove their boxes.

‘Under government rules, telecom companies can install their boxes without planning permission from councils.

‘Since trying to help facilitate between all parties, we have always been clear that the boxes were lawfully installed and we join others in calling for councils to be given more power to act in these situations.

‘Different routes we have explored over the years have included looking into a meditator and advertising Umana Yana on the boxes with the telecom companies’ consent.

‘We have every sympathy for Umana Yana’s owner, which is why we put forward an Article 4 motion.

‘This requires telecom companies to ask us for planning permission to install their boxes, masts, and similar structures at this location, including any replacements.’

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