OWNERS SLAM ‘HEAVY-HANDED’ APPROACH TO CAR PARK VENTURE
A PUB has been threatened with enforcement action if it allows street food traders to continue selling from the car park, owners have claimed. Keyworth Tavern has been warned it would be breaching planning rules if it allowed vendors to sell pizza, sweet treats, chicken and poutine on its car park after March 23. Pop-ups have been happening each week on the land off Fairway for almost a year after the government allowed businesses to offer a takeaway service during the pandemic without having to go through a planning application process. Last November, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that restaurants, pubs and cafes would have the automatic freedom to provide takeaways for another year to March 2022. Keyworth Tavern owner, The Pub People Company, claims it received a letter threatening enforcement action if it continued - however after the Post contacted the council it said the letter was sent in error. Pub operations director Andrew Crawford said he was taken aback by the bluntness and tone of the letter. “It’s an accusation. It feels like you’re going to be prosecuted. To send a blunt letter out like that is wrong. After the year we have had, this is not the sort of communication you want from the local council. “We think the way Rushcliffe are implementing this is not in the spirit of how the lockdown has affected small businesses and communities. “The vendors have been very popular with the residents of Keyworth and we have been given a threatening ultimatum, no consultation. Is this the way local government should be acting in a time of national disaster?” The Pub People Company had previously spoken to Rushcliffe’s licensing department, which okayed the vendors as long as they were licensed - which they are. “It’s given the vendors something to do and given them a bit of an opportunity and it’s been good for the residents of Keyworth. It’s been really good and it’s something different. “I think sending a letter out like that was very heavy-handed. That’s not reflective of how local councils should be treating hospitality. We’ve had a tough year. We don’t want to receive something like this. “If it’s inaccurate as well that just highlights the disorganisation within local councils.” A planning enforcement officer at Rushcliffe wrote that an alleged unauthorised change of use was being investigated. The letter said: “I am investigating an allegation that the pub car park is being used for mobile food vendors several times a week. “I can advise that legislation last year to allow the temporary use for takeaway food... however this temporary provision expires on 23rd March 2021. “Should use by the food vendors continue after this date the council will have to consider taking formal enforcement action.” Vendors including Zenzerro’s Wood Fired Pizza Kitchen, Squeaky Beaver Poutine, Cluck Brothers Rotisserie and the Unique Treats Company have been given a pitch for free on rotation to help them make money during the lockdown. Ashley Childs, founder of Cluck Brothers Rotisserie, said: “It has been hugely beneficial to my business parking in the car park at the Keyworth Tavern as it is a well-known ‘hub’ in the community. “I have received a huge amount of support from locals, and they have enjoyed having weekly access to highquality takeaways. I have paid over £400 for a Street Trading Licence to trade there. The council should be supporting small businesses - particularly those in the catering industry - many of which have been hit hard after three national lockdowns.” A spokesman for Rushcliffe Borough Council said: “We have contacted the Pub People Company so they can make the traders aware that the letter was sent in error and the vendors can continue to operate on the site with consent. As a council we are naturally very keen to work with local businesses, particularly in light of the challenges Covid-19 has presented.”