Yahoo News Kebab van bid turned down amid fears revellers 'already vandalise and vomit in the town centre'
A bid for a van to sell kebabs in Cheltenham’s Promenade has been rejected amid fears it would fuel antisocial behaviour as revellers “already vandalise and vomit in the town centre”. Mehmet Yilmaz applied to Cheltenham Borough Council for a street trading consent to sell hot food and hot and cold drinks from a van measuring 2.1m by 3.6m.
He wanted to trade from the Promenade near Clarence Terrace from 6pm to 4am, seven days a week. A Cheltenham Business Improvement representative spoke against the plans during the licensing sub-committee meeting on June 18.
She said it would be out of keeping with the area and could lead to antisocial behaviour. And that it is very close to Boots Corner which is an area already experiencing large amounts of antisocial behaviour.
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"One prime example is people coming out of the pubs and clubs at the end of Regent Street and making their way onto the Promenade," she said. "There was at one point some flowers put up there and they were just ripped out.
“There have been bins on the Promenade, the doors have been opened and the litter spread around. There’s also been a few issues around the taxi rank.
"There is quite often a lot of vomit on the streets leading from both the clubs at the end of Regent Street and near Yates and Revolution.
"There are a couple of takeaways around the corner there. This would make it worse and perhaps spread that sort of thing.”
She also said the length of the kebab vans opening hours would take trade away from nearby businesses. “There are a number of businesses in that area who are food outlets which are open until midnight," she said.
“We've been contacted by restaurants nearby who are concerned it would detract from the overall aesthetics and ambiance of the Promenade. It is quite often used in the early evenings by people going to and from the theatre, Montpellier and enjoying the Imperial Gardens.”
Mr Yilmaz said he had 20 years of experience running such a business and has traded in Bristol city centre. He said to avoid noise nuisance he uses a power bank and would have three workers to deal with customers as quickly as possible.
“We are not keeping the people in the area,” he said. “After finishing work we would clean the area 100 yards around.”
He told the committee he used to run a kebab van in Evesham Road but it was not profitable. “In the town centre you can make more money, that’s why I’ve applied. You can serve more customers.”
Cllr Simon Wheeler (LD, Hesters Way) said it was unfair to put the town’s antisocial behaviour problems “at his door” as he is not currently trading there. “Having said that, businesses of your nature will attract people coming out of pubs and clubs who have had too much to drink," he said.
“How would you manage that if you found yourself in a situation where antisocial behaviour was occurring due to your business?”
Mr Yilmaz said he did not think he would have any trouble because he knows how to manage customers. But he reassured the committee that if it is very busy he would hire two security guards.
Cllr Dilys Barrell (LD, Park) said she was sympathetic with his aims but the location of the business is not good. “Unfortunately, if people are attracted to your business there is so much opportunity for more antisocial behaviour to happen in the area,” she said.
And Cllr David Steinhardt (LD, Benhall, the Reddings and Fiddler's Green) said he did not think the kebab van would add value to the Promenade. He said there are a lot of other businesses there making a living.
“You would be in direct competition with them," he said. "I don’t think that would be fair on them either.”
Mr Yilmaz said he was willing to be flexible and reduce his opening times if need be. “Please give me the chance of six months or one year to try it," he said.
“Without trying, nobody knows what’s going to happen. If there are any problems, I’ll close it myself.”
The committee voted to reject the application.
