Decision taken on future of coffee and donut stall in town centre after complaint is shot down

A stall will be allowed to continue to sell coffee and donuts in Cheltenham town centre after a council vote was taken following a complaint. The Little Donut Stall in the High Street had its street trading licence unanimously approved on Wednesday (January 8).

William Danter wanted to continue to sell hot and cold food and drink from a traditional English barrow outside Next and House of Tweed. The application has been referred to be considered by the borough council's licensing sub-committee at the Municipal Offices after a complaint was lodged from the letting agent from the nearby premises.

A complaint was sent to the council in November on behalf of the owners of the recently acquired former Carphone Warehouse store at 143-145 High Street. The complaint said that when trying to market the unit to prospective tenants, the feedback they got back was that they would not take on the unit due to the presence of the donut stall outside.

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The committee heard from both the objector and the applicant, and concluded the objection was neither strong nor well-founded in licensing policy. Suggestions of any highways safety risk were refuted by the lack of objections from either Gloucestershire Highways or the Police, and official road safety data showed no injury collisions in the last five years, and the stall didn’t obstruct the pavement or views of shop frontage.

Furthermore, street trading at the site was happening long before the current owner acquired the premises from which the objection was made. This favoured the existing street trading being allowed to continue.

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Chair of the Licensing Sub-committee, Cllr Dr David Willingham (LD, St Peters) said: “I have little sympathy for the objector. The merits of the objection come across as similar to buying a house under the flight path into Heathrow and then complaining about aircraft noise, and as such could not reasonably form any grounds for refusal, relocation, or rotation of the stall.

"The presence of the stall should have been evident to anyone buying premises nearby, so the principle of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) must apply. The fact the stall had previously been approved and trading for several years without problems, complaints, or issues strongly suggested it was fully compliant with the council's street trading policy.”

Cheltenham’s street trading policy has five considerations: Needs of the Area, Public Nuisance, Public Safety, Appearance of the Stall or Vehicle, & Environmental Credentials. These factors were all considered when the stall was first licensed at the site, and the change of ownership of a nearby property is not a material change.