Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were intimated from Councillors Rory Colville, Neil Mackay, James McQueen and Bruce Marshall.

None declared.

The Chair introduced himself and invited those present at the meeting to do likewise and then outlined the procedure that would be followed.

 

Mr Reppke advised that one objection had been received from A & L Barr of Plaice for Taste, Campbeltown outwith the 28 day period allowed for objections and representations to be made and that Mr Ferguson, in attendance to speak on behalf of the objectors, was available to explain why this objection was submitted late.  It was for the Committee to decide whether or not they would wish take this late objection into consideration.

 

Mr Ferguson advised that he had no substantial information as to why the objection had been submitted late and could only assume that notification of the application had not come to his clients’ attention in time.  Ms Munro confirmed that it took Mr and Mrs Barr a while to source this information.

 

The Committee agreed to take into consideration the late objection and a copy of this was circulated to Members.

 

The Chair invited the Applicant to speak in support of his application.

 

Applicant

 

Mr MacLean advised that he had submitted an application to change his vehicle as the trailer used at the moment was unstable on windy days and that he was losing a lot of days business because of the wind.  He referred to a previous application submitted for change of vehicle which had been refused and that no reason had been given to him at that time why the application had been refused and that he had no opportunity of commenting on the refusal.  He referred to his request for the removal of the condition from his licence which requires that there is a distance of at least 100 metres between his van and that of Ms Munro and explained that he was looking for this request to be considered only if his application for change of vehicle was refused.  He advised that he was not interested in starting any “burger wars” and that he had made the request as this would allow him to move his current vehicle to a place sheltered from the wind.  He also referred to his request to be able to sell fish and chips advising that his was the only burger van he knew of on the West Coast of Scotland that was unable to supply chips.

 

The Chair invited the Objectors to question the Applicant.

 

Objectors

 

Mr Ferguson referred to the request to sell fish and asked the Applicant if he had previously been refused permission to sell fish in the past.  Mr MacLean advised no.

 

Mr Ferguson referred to the 100 metre rule, and asked Mr MacLean where he would position his van if this condition was removed from his licence.  Mr MacLean confirmed that he would not be moving his van right up close to Ms Munro’s and that he would be moving it just far enough to gain shelter from the wind.

 

The Chair invited the Objectors to speak.

 

Objectors

 

Mr Ferguson advised that he was in attendance to speak on behalf of Ms Munro and referred to the details of his letter submitted which outlined the reasons for Ms Munro’s objections to this application.  He referred to the Committee’s decision in October 2011 to refuse another application submitted by another applicant to substitute a vehicle and that it was his understanding that the Committee were dealing with the same proposed vehicle as was considered at the Hearing in October 2011. 

 

He advised that the main reason for objection to this application was the declining available trade in Campbeltown for hot food take away and that there were less customers with less money to spend.  He advised there was an over provision of such services in Campbeltown and read out a list of 15 establishments providing such facilities.  He advised that Mr MacLean’s current proposal was an attempt to claw in a greater share of the market and in doing so would put other traders at risk.  He referred to there being poor relations between the parties involved and that there would be difficulty in working side by side.  He advised that due to the current market conditions Ms Munro had put her vehicle up for sale and that nothing had changed in respect of market conditions since the previous application was considered in October 2011.  He referred to the larger vehicle enabling customers to come inside the van and to the use of LPG for cooking and advised that it would take people longer to clear the area in an emergency.

 

Mr Ferguson advised that he was also in attendance to speak on behalf of Ms Lawrie and asked the Committee to take into consideration her employment concerns.

 

Mr Ferguson also advised that Mr and Mrs Barr’s business was struggling badly due to a general downturn in trade and that they had both had to take on other employment to make ends meet.

 

Mr Ferguson advised that there was already an over provision of hot food premises in Campbeltown and that the Applicant was driven by a desire to obtain a larger share of limited available market and that his various clients were looking for this application to be refused.

 

The Chair invited the Applicant to ask the Objectors questions.

 

Questions to Objectors

 

Mr MacLean advised that it was his understanding that as from this afternoon Ms Munro’s business had been sold and asked if this were the case.  Ms Munro advised that as far as she was aware this was not the case.

 

The Chair invited Members to ask the Applicant and Objectors questions.

 

Members’ Questions

 

Councillor Devon referred to the size of the proposed new vehicle and asked the Applicant how customers would gain entry to it.  Mr MacLean advised that there was a flight of aluminium stairs with a rail at the rear of the vehicle.

 

Councillor MacMillan asked for clarification on the condition of traders not being allowed to trade within 100 metres of each other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.