Licence for ice cream van outside Sheffield Hallam University refused

The sub licensing committee made the decision following a public meeting, saying “you can’t grant a licence for somewhere you can’t park”.

Peter Devoti and Angela Heath submitted the application to Sheffield Council, following what Zoe Devoti said was a tough year for their business.

They wanted to take up a new spot at the top of Howard Street in the city centre to sell ice cream, lollipops and soft drinks from a traditional style ice cream van after a traffic regulation order, TRO, was put on one of their former sites at Botanical Gardens last year.

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During the meeting Mrs Devoti said: “We have already had a lot of bad luck this year and at the end of last year, we lost the licence for Botanical Gardens due to a TRO.

“We have also been hit very hard by covid19, not being able to trade. We are just trying to get ourselves back on our feet.”

But councillors said the new spot they applied for also had a parking ban.

Ahead of the meeting the city centre management team at the council also lodged an objection, saying there was already a coffee trader near the bottom of the street and the van did not meet the criteria to trade on the main arrival point into the city centre.

Although blocking the licence, councillors referred Mrs Devoti to officers who may be able to help find them a more suitable spot such as Devonshire Green.

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