Ice cream vans set to be banned from another 33 streets in London

  • london
  • June 13, 2023
  • Comments Off on Ice cream vans set to be banned from another 33 streets in London
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A London council has caused outrage over its plans to ban ice cream vans from dozens of streets.

Greenwich Council could ban the vendors from 33 streets, including near tourist hotspots, because they keep their engines running even while stopped to power the freezers and soft-serve machines.

This has raised concerns about the amount of pollution they produce, and the council says ice cream vans cause ‘unacceptable levels of public nuisance’, the Daily Mail reports.

It seems Greenwich Council is following the lead of Camden Council, which banned ice cream vans in 40 streets in 2019 due to environmental concerns.

The roads affected under the new ban include 20 roads in Woolwich and 13 in Greenwich town centre, including Greenwich High Road and Cutty Sark gardens.

They also encompass King William Walk beside Greenwich Park, because of its ‘sensitive’ location next to the Maritime World Heritage Site, which includes the Royal Observatory and Old Royal Naval College. 

It was suggested queues for ice cream vans would ‘clutter’ the view of these heritage sites, and create a ‘bottleneck’ in the area.

The plans would add two new places for ice cream vans to park, and vendors would be allowed to trade for up to 15 minutes on the affected streets, as long as they didn’t return on the same day.

A decision is set to be made by the council on Wednesday.

A council spokesperson said: ‘We already welcome the trading of ice cream vans in hundreds of locations in the borough, but itinerant ice cream van trading – defined as trading from a vehicle which goes from place to place – can cause unacceptable levels of nuisance, as well as having negative impact on air quality from engine idling in sensitive locations. 

‘This has already been restricted in some areas. The council is currently reviewing its Street and Ice Cream Trading policy as required by the London Local Authorities Act 1990 (as amended). 

‘The draft update to be considered by cabinet on June 14 adds two places where ice cream can lawfully be traded from via fixed locations throughout the day.

‘Once considered at the council’s cabinet meeting, the policy will be subject to consultation for members of the public and other stakeholders to comment.’

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