To consider the report of the Service Lead- Environmental Health & Community Safety.
Minutes:
The Chair introduced the Licensing Sub Committee Members and Officers.
The Legal Advisor set out the procedure for the hearing and the Applicant confirmed that the procedure was understood.
The Principal Licensing Officer, presented the report which advised that the Applicants were seeking the approval of the Licensing Sub-Committee for a street trading consent applicable to the following consented streets in Exeter:-
· Alphington Playing Field Car Park (Wednesday trading location);
· St Leonards Road (Thursday trading location);
· Sylvania Drive (Friday trading location); and
· Dunsford Gardens (Saturday trading location).
The Applicant had applied for a 9-month licence to trade between Wednesday’s and Saturday’s between 16:30 hours and 20:30 hours, selling wood-fired pizza, soft drinks and desserts. The Applicants had submitted supporting information and photographs of the proposed purpose-built food van, which were included in the report papers.
Members noted that in May 2020, the Applicants had previously been approved for a Street Trading Consent and had been trading since that time with no complaints received, and had achieved a 5 out of 5 rating at their last Environmental Health inspection in July 2019. The Applicant was seeking to amend their trading locations from their previous application, which had also been circulated to Environmental Health and Devon County Highways as per the Street Trading Policy.
No representations had been received from Devon County Highways, however the Principal Licensing Officer highlighted previously agreed key points from the Applicants previous application, that:-
· a trailer could not be left unattended on the public highway and must remain attached to a vehicle at all times;
· dedicated parking for the vehicle could not be authorised and parking locations could not be guaranteed;
· it was prohibited to sell anything from a designated parking place; and
· that it was driver’s responsibility to ensure that they park in a safe location that did not obstruct any traffic.
The Applicant was in attendance and spoke in support of the application, stating that they originally applied for a six month licence and following the success of the business were looking to continue selling street food. The business didn’t operate between September and March, due to the colder weather, but the previous year had been a success. The Applicant noted that both St Leonards Road and Collins Road had been good locations but they needed to operate slightly off road, from these roads.
The business would be selling wood fire pizzas, using dried locally sourced wood, to reduce emissions. The fridge would be powered by a generator, for 20 minutes each hour, to keep food cool and would be a more environmentally friendly option. Payments would be taken using tablets and handheld devices.
The Applicant referred to the Alphington Playing Field Car Park, which was thought to be owned by the sports club, and permission was pending for approval from their board, to trade. The Dunsford Gardens location would support smaller communities, with limited access to food outlets.
In response to questions from the Members, the Legal Advisor and Principal Licensing Officer, the Applicants explained:-
· should they be unsuccessful in obtaining permission to trade at Alphington Playing Field Car Park, the alternative option would be to trade at a campsite in Budleigh Salterton;
· there had been no issues with residents, and good relationships had been developed with local communities.
In response to questions from the Licensing Sub-Committee, the Principal
Licensing Officer explained that there had been no complaints received about the business and that it had been a successful venture.
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 use of A boards and flags be prohibited;
d) the consent holder will not conduct fly posting;
e) 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;
f) 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.