Greenwich Council faces yet more costs in a row over its policy on ice cream selling that’s already cost taxpayers hundreds and thousands.
The South London authority has been told by a court to review its policy and re-run a public consultation on proposals to ban ice cream selling in King William Walk, beside Greenwich Park.
The site was included on a list of streets prohibiting itinerant ice cream trading, as part of a policy approved at a full council meeting in December 2023. Paul St Hilaire Sr appealed the council’s decision in court, claiming he’s been trading in the area for over 30 years.
The council meanwhile argued the site was inappropriate for ice cream selling given its ‘sensitive location’ in a World Heritage Site. But District Judge Sarah Turnock considered the appeal on the grounds of the decision not being legally sound and has subsequently ordered the council to look again at its policy and run the public consultation again due to legal breaches in the process.
Paul St Hilaire Jr, speaking on behalf of his father, told the LDRS: “Whilst we welcome the council’s decision to follow yet another court order, it is disappointing that a court order is required at great public expense. The council approves for a Royal Museums ice cream van to generate revenue, but for the previous decade, has gone to great lengths and astonishing public expense to prevent my father from lawfully trading.”
The appeal was heard on August 15 last year in Bromley Magistrates’ Court but the decision was not made public. The council decided on Friday (January 3) that it would do what the court ordered – re-run the consultation and review its policy.
The court noted that the council had breached legislation by not including a draft of the new policy with the proposed street names listed in full in a public notice beforehand. The judge said these shortcomings gave rise to some prejudice to Mr St Hilaire as he was not made aware of the details of the new policy. She added that it appeared Mr St Hilaire’s written and verbal representations at council meetings had not been considered by the authority.
Court documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) from February 2015 showed Woolwich Crown Court ordered Greenwich Council to grant Mr St Hilaire a street trading licence for King William Walk proving he had been trading there for years, seemingly without issue.
While the council argues that queues of people wanting ice cream could create a hazard on King William Walk, Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by the LDRS revealed Royal Museums Greenwich had objected to another ice cream trader operating nearby, for fear of it affecting the business of the museum’s café.
Further FOI requests revealed that the authority had spent over £52,000 in litigation costs for the case. With the court’s ruling it means more public money is set to be spent on the issue.
Mr St Hilaire Sr previously told the LDRS that selling ice cream was his primary way of supporting his seven children. A Greenwich Council spokesperson said that the narrow pavements of King William Walk could become obstructed by queues from ice cream sellers which could impact pedestrians such as the elderly, disabled and those with pushchairs.
The judge stated that ice cream trading on King William Walk remained banned until a new decision was made, with a statutory consultation on the proposal running until February 3. An updated report on the proposed policy is expected to be presented to the Cabinet in March.
