The Royal Borough of Greenwich has pushed forward with plans to ban travelling ice cream vans from trading on over 30 streets.
The council has agreed to progress with plans to ban ice cream vans from selling on a number of streets across Greenwich and Woolwich town centres.
The cabinet for Greenwich Council agreed to put the plans forward for consultation at a meeting yesterday (Wednesday, June 14).
Council documents said the plans had been made to improve air quality by reducing emissions from “engine idling”. They also said trading from the vans attracted “nuisance” and had an impact on public amenity.
Beresford Square, Powis Street and General Gordon Square are included in the list of 20 roads surrounding Woolwich town centre that could be affected by the ban.
Greenwich town centre also had 13 nearby roads included in the list, including Cutty Sark Gardens.
King William Walk near Greenwich Park was recently added to the list given its “sensitive” location. The road is located beside the Royal Museums Greenwich and St Mary’s Gates, with the street itself being in a World Heritage Site and Conservation Area.
Council documents said the street was added to the list after a complaint and two ombudsman enquiries had been received relating to ice cream being sold in the area.
A representative from the Planning Inspectorate said in their report that an ice cream van would “adversely affect” the enjoyment of visitors in the area given the queue it would attract and the “bottleneck” it would cause at the entrance to the museums.
They said: “The ice cream van, taking into account the queues and congregation of customers waiting to be served, would visually clutter and partially screen views of the [Royal Museums] entrance gardens and statue, St Mary’s Gates and Greenwich Park.”
Council documents said the consultation will take place with key stakeholders in three weeks time over a 28 day period.
Designated streets for trading must then be agreed upon with the police.
If the plans were to be approved, vendors with ice cream cans would be able to trade for up to 15 minutes on roads in the borough that are not included in the list.
Traders must then move and cannot return to the same street on the same day.
At the meeting, the cabinet for Greenwich Council agreed to allow the council’s proposed street trading policy to proceed to public consultation.
Following this, a report will be made to the full council for a final decision.
