THE WARD councillor for a popular kebab van has said that she is ‘deeply disappointed’ at the decision to remove its street trading license.
Last Thursday, a licensing sub-committee at Wokingham Borough Council heard an appeal for the BBQ King van, which has traded for nearly 30 years from pitches on Reading Road, close to St Paul’s Church.
Since 2016, it had been trading from the car park of the Wokingham Youth and Community Centre, but permission was withdrawn last December. The virtual hearing on June 11 was to determine if a street trading license should be awarded to Kenan Mursaloglu, who runs the van.
Earlier today, Mr Mursaloglu learnt that the panel had declined to renew the permit, saying that the youth centre car park is not a suitable or appropriate location for a fast food vehicle.
Cllr Imogen Shepherd-DuBey, who represents Emmbrook ward on the council, said that she felt she should have been allowed to be part of the appeal process last Thursday.
“I’m deeply disappointed about what has happened. I had hoped the council would have given him a bit more time to sort it out,” she said. “He has four staff and will probably have to lay them off.
“I’m very unhappy with Wokingham Borough Council for shutting it down that quickly and I’m unhappy that part of the meeting was behind closed doors and that I was not allowed to be in it. I’ve got some issues with that as a councillor – I was excluded.”
She added: “I’m not confident that the appeal has been dealt with fairly.”
Cllr Shepherd-DuBey said that she understood that Mr Mursaloglu had permission to trade this evening, but beyond that was uncertain. With no permission to trade from the car park, he needs to find a new location, but this might not be easy.
“I have very little hope that Mr Mursaloglu will find anywhere else,” Cllr Shepherd-DuBey said, adding that there were some preliminary discussions being made with St Paul’s.
Some residents have suggested that the van should have a pitch in Market Place, but Cllr Shepherd-DuBet wasn’t sure it would be that straightforward. The land is owned by the borough council but managed by the town council.
“We had planned for Market Place to be open in the evenings, but that is not possible at this point in time,” she explained. “He would be welcome to come and join with the daytime market traders.”
She added that there were health and safety implications if he traded late night, including access to facilities such as water and toilets.
“It’s not insurmountable,” she said. “Wokingham Town Council is open to a conversation.”
And Cllr Shepherd-DuBey added: “The van is very popular, I’ve never known any trouble there. Mr Mursaloglu is very well liked by young adults and teenagers.”
Wokingham.Today understands that Wokingham Borough Council will be issuing a statement on the hearing. We will bring you this as we get it.
