Agenda item

To consider the report of the Service Lead - Environmental Health & Community Safety.

The Chair introduced the Licensing Sub Committee members and Officers.

The Principal Licensing Officer, presented the report which advised the Applicants were seeking the approval of the Licensing Sub-Committee for a roving street trading consent applicable to designated Consent Streets across Exeter, but with particular designated Consent for streets in Topsham. The Applicants had applied for a 12 month licence to sell hot drinks and cakes, trading between Saturday and Sunday between 08:00 and 18:00 hours. It was the intention to trade mainly on Sunday and potentially Saturday, the applicant currently trading on private land at the Cat and Fiddle Training Ground but wishing to extend trading into Exeter

The Applicants had submitted correspondence regarding omissions from the application form and photographs of the proposed purpose-built food van, which were included in the report papers. Members were informed that the Applicants had registered the business with Environmental Health, but were yet to receive a food hygiene rating visit.

The Principal Licensing Officer highlighted that there had been no comments or objections received from Environmental Health or the Highways Authority but referenced relevant comments from Devon County Council in respect of similar applications points:-

·        dedicated parking for the vehicle cannot be authorised and therefore the locations cannot be guaranteed to be available to allow parking;

·        to also note that it is prohibited to sell anything from a designated parking place; and

·        It remains the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they park in a safe location that does not obstruct any traffic or visibility. Parking over/on footways is not permitted.

The Applicants were in attendance and spoke in support of the application, stating:-

·        that one of the applicants had 20 years’ experience in hospitality and looked to approach the business in the correct and appropriate manner and adhere to re-cycling and cleaning conditions;

·        the application would primarily be operating on private land and quieter areas across the city, catering for various walkers;

·        the exact hours of operation had not been fully outlined but would be between 8am and 6pm on weekends only;

·        the food safety requirements were underway and the purpose-built food van was due to be inspected soon;

·        the ingredients and coffee would be locally sourced from a Cornish supplier and there were negotiations underway to use a local Exeter supplier;

·        dog walkers will be catered for through provision of dog bags, dog waste bins and water bowls for the dogs; and

·        staff would be fully trained in food safety and safe working practices.

In response to questions from the Licensing Sub-Committee, the Legal Advisor and Principal Licensing Officer, the Applicants explained

·        that safety precautions during the Coronavirus Pandemic would include providing hand sanitizer for staff and customers, use of face masks, maintaining social distancing, only accepting contactless card payments and staff would be working in an open area. Condiments and milk would be added to the drinks on the customer’s behalf.

·        a training day was undertaken at the Halden Forest Park Car Park;

·        they had initially used A boards to display both menu and coronavirus safety information, but had removed these to comply with conditions. The A board was kept very close to the catering van, to avoid any issues.

·        they were looking at trading in areas with good pedestrian footfall, and considered Topsham to be a location. A licence was required in case it is wished to venture outside this location, the intention being to continue largely operating on Sundays with possible assistance from their wives if also trading on Saturdays in Exeter.

·        they would have regard to the location of the van and, whilst Topsham had been identified as a potential location, they were mindful of competing cafes and outlets. Ideal locations would be the more remote locales where there was little or no competition. Exhibition Fields identified as one such area which also has good footfall.

·        that the hours of operation were likely to be between 09:30 and 15:00 on weekends, but the requested time of 08:00 to 18:00 would allow more flexibility.

In response to questions from the Licensing Sub-Committee, the Principal Licensing Officer explained:-

·        that a roving licence prohibited trade in key areas such as the city centre and quay and that trading was allowed in all other areas; and

·        that the condition to prevent the use of A boards was not mandatory and applied more for areas where there was a higher footfall and the boards being an issue to pedestrians. In more remote locations it was acceptable to remove this condition. 

RESOLVED that the Application be approved with the following conditions:

a)     all of the conditions contained within Appendix A of the Street Trading Policy dated 2015 should be included in the consent;

b)     the consent holder will provide a bin for customer use and that the consent holder will ensure that any rubbish in the vicinity (within 100m of the business), emanating from the business is cleared away at regular intervals;

c)     the consent holder will not conduct fly posting;

d)     in the event that issues do arise from this consent, then this consent may be revoked by the Service Lead Environmental Health and Community Safety in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee;

e)     in line with the Council’s resolution of 24th April 2018, any cutlery, food/ drink containers, and drinking straws used should not be made from single use plastics.