Agenda item

Miss Kayleigh Evans (18/02061/STA)

The Licensing Officer introduced the report, he explained that an application had been received from Miss Kayleigh Evans for a street trading consent to sell “Direct Trade” quality coffee and traditional Italian Gelato from the location ‘High Street 7’ located on Cambray Place. She proposed to trade from 08:00 – 15:00 every day. He advised that the application does not comply with the Council’s street trading policy as that location is permitted for the sale of flowers/plants, arts & crafts, ice-cream and fruit & veg but not the sale of hot drinks and confectionary due to the high concentration of existing coffee shops in the vicinity. He explained that a number of objections had been received to the application and these were outlined in the accompanying background papers.

He advised that the sub-committee that they could:

·      Approve the application because Members are satisfied that the location is suitable for the proposed trading, or

·      Refuse the application because it does not comply with the provision of the adopted Street Trading Licensing Policy or for any other reason.

The applicant, Miss Kayleigh Evans and her husband Chris Evans spoke in support of the application. They explained that:

·           The van was a 1964 French fire truck which they had converted. They had got the idea when they had visited Venice;

·           They wanted to offer a unique experience to customers and felt that the van was a talking point and the history of it interested customers;

·           The produce they used was high quality;

·           Key to their business model was sustainability, they used no plastic and were as sustainable as possible:

·           They had applied for a licence to also sell hot drinks as the English climate meant it was not always possible to just sell gelato;

·           They confirmed that they had read the Council’s street trading policy and consulted with the licensing team;

·           Mr Evans confirmed that they had a litter bin next to the unit;

·           They explained that they sympathised with local business and it was not their intention to antagonise or put them out of business. They felt that they offered a different product to nearby establishments; 

·           They had heavily invested in the van and invested in the best ingredients, they did not benefit from power of the masses that large retailer consumers did;

·           They were happy to amend the application to suit if Members felt it necessary.

Mr and Miss Evans offered the following responses to Members questions:

·           The concept of the van had been a joint idea, however, it would be Miss Evans who ran the business day to day as Mr Evans worked full time in a different business;

·           They had applied for a licence 7 days so they had the flexibility, if the application were to be accepted Miss Evans would look to hire somebody for 1 or 2 days a week. There were be a maximum of 2 employees at any one time.

In the debate that followed, Members explained that:

·           A lot of the concerns they had regarding the previous application still stood i.e. the needs of the area  and the conflict with other retailers; 

·           Members were conscious of the significant investment the Council had put in to improving the High Street and were concerned about the weight of the vehicle on the new paving. Mr Evans confirmed that the vehicle was actually poly carbonate and not as heavy as it appeared. The Licensing Officer explained that they would expect Townscape to comment on the weight should they have any concerns regarding this; 

·           Some Members were concerned as to whether the van would fit within the permitted location without causing obstructions to pedestrians and other vehicles. The Licensing Officer confirmed that they had consulted with Highways England who they would expect to comment if there was insufficient space;

·           Members agreed that the van and the product they were offering was great but it wasn’t in the right location due to the direct competition with other food and drink establishments;

·           Members strongly encouraged Miss Evans to speak with officers to find a suitable location;

Members proceeded to vote on section 1.5.1 of the report to approve the application because Members are satisfied that the location is suitable for the proposed trading.

Upon a vote it was 1 in favour and 4 against.

RESOLVED THAT

The application be refused because Members are dissatisfied with the location for the proposed trading.