- Is YOUR local council a killjoy? arthur.parashar@mailonline.co.uk
A Labour-run council has been accused of ‘destroying fun’ over its plans to ban ice cream vans from popular streets around London‘s iconic Greenwich Park.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has sparked a backlash over the last two years after submitting plans to ban ice cream vans from trading in more than 30 roads in the area.
The council has denied being ‘anti-ice cream’, insisting: ‘We do love an ice cream, actually.’
But one of the areas that it hopes to ban ice cream traders from is King William Walk, a popular tourist hotspot in the north-west of the park, near the Royal Observatory.
The plans have faced opposition, including from Paul St Hilaire Snr who has been selling ice creams in Greenwich for three decades.
He previously took the council to Bromley Magistrates’ Court on the basis that the local authority’s decision to prohibit traders from King William Walk was not legally sound.
In a victory for Mr St Hilaire and the ice cream lovers of Greenwich, the council was ordered to re-run the public consultation process and review whether King William Walk should be among the roads banned from selling ice cream.
It was previously revealed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that Greenwich Council spent £52,000 of taxpayers’ money in legal bills.
The plans have faced opposition, including from Paul St Hilaire Snr (pictured with his son) who has been selling ice creams in Greenwich for three decades
File image of mounted police officers running a check for permission to work on the ice cream van outside Greenwich Park
The council say restrictions are needed in King William Walk because ice cream vans are blocking pedestrians and causing access issues for the elderly, the disabled and parents with pushchairs. Pictured: An ice cream trader in Greenwich
The council has denied being ‘anti-ice cream’, insisting: ‘We do love an ice cream, actually.’ Pictured: Londoners enjoy the sunny weather in Greenwich Park earlier this month
However, many are bracing for the ban to be approved at a full council meeting after residents and 16 local organisations expressed support for the fresh proposal, with nine opposing.
Councillor Pat Slattery, the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, told a recent meeting: ‘I think it is important to say that the council is not anti-ice cream. There are ice cream vendors in a reasonable spit of where this ice cream van regularly parks up.’
Meanwhile Councillor Anthony Okereke, leader of the council, said: ‘We are not banning ice creams in Greenwich in any way, shape or form. We do love an ice cream, actually.’
But Tory London Assembly member Susan Hall, told the Telegraph the plans were ‘ludicrous’, adding: ‘The council should rethink this policy. Are they all hell-bent on destroying any fun in Sadiq Khan’s London?’
The council say restrictions are needed in King William Walk because ice cream vans are blocking pedestrians and causing access issues for the elderly, the disabled and parents with pushchairs.
The University of Greenwich, who support the ban, say King William Walk is an ‘unsuitable location’ for ice cream vans due to their obstruction, while also warning they ‘affect local businesses’.
Mr St Hilaire Snr previously told the LDRS: ‘I’ve been doing my business for 30 years, I’ve raised a family.
‘I have all my children that are here working and providing services for the wider community. All I want is to be able to sell my ice cream.’
MailOnline has contacted the council for further comment.
