The family who run a long-standing food trailer in the centre of Kingston have expressed their anguish and frustration after revealing Kingston Council (RBK) are asking them to move.

The Goodvellas ice cream trailer near to All Saints Church has been trading in central Kingston since the early 2000s, and has become a popular site and point of reference for Kingstonians.

However, Lynn Vella, 61, and her son Martin, 42, who own the business were shocked recently after they were contacted by RBK and told they were in breach of their street trading licence.

"They want me to tow this vehicle in and out every day. But it's been sitting here for eight years without moving and they've built around me," Martin said.

"They've put in bicycle locks, street lamps all around, and now told us to move it, but it's impossible...I'd never be able to get it back in again," he added.

"The council previously deemed it unsafe for us to drive down the high street with the trailer... now this council want me to drive down that high street twice a day and I really don't feel safe doing that."

🎄✨🎄✨

Posted by GoodVellas on Wednesday, 21 November 2018

Martin said council representatives told him that the Goodvellas trailer was "two feet too long" and therefore in breach of their specific licence, despite the family saying they had the trailer built specifically to comply with regulations in Kingston when they started trading 17 years ago.

"They're saying they are going to close us down when the shops reopen on the 12th. We haven't been trading during lockdown. In this time the council should be trying to help small businesses," Martin said.

He added that moving the van in and out of town everyday would demonstrably contribute to pollution and carbon emissions in the town centre that the council are committed to reducing as per their climate emergency declaration.

"We've technically still trading because of our licence during Covid so we open up but there's no-one here because the shops are shut.

"So to be told two weeks before they reopen they've I've got to somehow by a new trailer is just impossible. It's killing us."

Martin's mum Lynn has worked at the trailer since 1998 but has been impacted by health issues recently.

She described how RBK's decision had affected her:

My health isn't good anyway and I've had to self-isolate through Covid, but this has taken a toll on my mental health too. I haven't slept or eaten properly in two weeks.

"With this bureacracy, someone who sits in an office ticking boxes can ruin your life. That's what it's done to me," Lynn said.

"I don't know what to do. If they take me to court I can't afford the litigation. It's really taking a toll...."

Responding to a request from the Surrey Comet newspaper, a spokesperson for RBK insisted that all traders must comply with both their licenses and the law.

"Street Trading licences are issued with conditions that are based on the legislative requirements, assessment of health and safety and to encourage a vibrant street trading offer," they said.

"Licence holders are expected to adhere to the conditions of their licence, and the council has the option to enforce these conditions in an open and transparent way to ensure equality for all traders."

The spokesperson added that the council were "in an ongoing dialogue with the licence holder concerning their licence", leaving open the possibility of a satisfactory resolution for Goodvellas.

However, Lynn said she had only received one email in that regard and it said their trailer was too long to comply with current regulations.

"We haven't had a single complaint from our food in all these years. I've served generations of people and their kids and all this now has happened so fast.

"We've been here so long...If we move they might not let us back in again."