Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

Councillors Willingham and Seacome declared they had visited the site.

The Licensing Officer introduced the report. An application had been received from Mr Jamie Fisher trading as Bella Mia Pizza for a street trading consent to sell pizza, desserts and cold drinks from a trailer outside Space NK Apothecary on the Promenade.  Mr Fisher had applied for an annual consent to trade on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00 to 21.00 hours.  An image of the trading unit was attached to the report.  The Officer advised that the application did not comply with the provisions of the street trading policy as it was not in an approved location.  The applicant had also been made aware of special conditions that might be applied if trading could be permitted, if the application were successful. The Officer reported that no comments had been made during the consultation period. The Officer shared his screen to show the proposed location of the trading unit as it was not totally clear from the map with the report.

The Officer reminded members of the aims and objectives of the council’s policy and that the policy prescribed three permitted trading sites.  He outlined the options available to members in determining the application and stated that the onus was on the applicant to give reasons for the committee to depart from the policy.  The Officer’s recommendation was that it be refused as it was not in an approved location.

In reply to a question from a member, the Officer stated that the other markets allowed in this area most likely did sell hot food.

The Chair invited the applicant to address members.  Mr Fisher stated that this was a family run business, which started trading in 2016 and normally catered for weddings and other outside functions.   He said it was very successful as people loved to see the authentic way of making the pizzas. He said everything was homemade and good quality and they always had good feedback from their customers.   However due to Covid-19 the wedding side of the business had dried up and he saw an opportunity to operate in Cheltenham.  He felt with his unit being a horse trailer that this fitted well with the townscape of Cheltenham  and would bring added benefit to the town, as many restaurants were currently closing.  They were very active on social media and this too would bring people into the town. He stated they also have a branch in Gloucester that is doing very well and would like to replicate this in Cheltenham.

In reply to member’s questions, Mr Fisher clarified that:-

·         This would be his second unit.

·         Everything was fresh and homemade and made in front of the customer.

·         With regard to odours, the location was a smoke controlled zone, so he would be using charcoal and the smell of pizzas was not offensive.

·         If trading was successful and the committee happy then he hoped to continue post Covid.

·         He was an independent business with no link to Space NK Apothecary

·         The unit did not require electricity;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

There were no briefing notes to discuss.

The Chair referred to 2 responses to the letters about the sexual entertainment venue licence where at the bottom of the letters the government had indicated that they have no intention to change the law.  He felt this disappointing that there was no desire to set up a National Register of Refusals and Revocations but hoped that it was something that the Council could push forward.