Conditions of Access
Access to the Garden is of necessity limited to Proprietors and a small number of Additional Keyholders
Who has a right of access?
The 120 Proprietors, who are mostly owners of properties in Drummond Place, are the owners of the Garden and have a right of access subject to paying an annual subscription which is a burden on the property. This is legally defined by the Charter of 1823. The amount of the subscription is set by the AGM.
Proprietors of let properties may allow their tenants to have access but only if they are a single family. (The Charter does not allow for access by a multiple tenancy.)
The Proprietor must take responsibility for the behaviour of their tenants in the Garden.
Who else can have access to the Garden? Additional Keyholders
The Proprietors can give access to a limited number of Additional Keyholders. This limit is there to ensure that the Proprietors can enjoy their own garden when they wish to. The proprietors decided long ago that the number of additional keys issued should not exceed one third of their own number.
The current catchment area is therefore limited to the pavilion buildings immediately adjacent to Drummond Place. These are either on the corners or the first building up the adjacent streets which generally have windows which look out into the Garden. (A distant sideways view of the Garden does not count.) . The occupiers of these additional dwellings may be given access as Additional Keyholders. This is a privilege and not a right.
New owners of these properties may apply for a key from the Garden Management Committee who on confirmation that they live within the current catchment area will authorise the issue of a key on payment of the current annual fee. On selling the property these owners must return the key and new owners must themselves apply for access.
Anybody living any further away has no possibility of access and should not try to apply.
Over the years the catchment area has varied and there are some long term Additional Keyholders in the surrounding area who acquired a key and access under the then catchment area. At one time there was a long waiting list for such access. When these properties are sold the access is terminated. It cannot be passed on to the new owners and they do not set a precedent for access .
