Illegal ice cream van trading results in £6,000 fine
Sat 03 Jun 2023
Idrees Mian from Uxbridge Road in Southall, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 19 May 2023, charged with three counts of illegal street trading and one of failing to respond to a notice.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal street trading on The Broadway in Southall. On the third charge he claimed that he was not trading and was merely parked.
Ealing council officers presented compelling evidence, including eyewitness testimonies and CCTV footage, while two police officers were prepared to provide their testimony. As a result, Mr. Mian was found guilty on all four charges, which included three counts of illegal street trading and one count of failing to respond to a notice.
Mian was ordered to pay a total of £5,990 in fines and legal fees, which included £2,850 in fines, £1,140 in victim surcharges, and £2,000 in costs at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 19 May 2023.
These illegal parking and trading problems go as far back as 2016. It started with the vans being parked all day in the loading bays on Southall Broadway. Ealing council failed to take proper action to deter these vans.
Last year, the emboldened ice cream vans started to permanently park on the pavements on Southall Broadway. Ealing council failed to take proper action to deter these vans, coming up with excuses like we don’t do this, we can’t do this and we do issue a few tickets.
It’s illegal trading, illegal parking, obstruction of pavements and ASB. This message from the residents was finally grasped by Ealing council last year, at the end of the ice cream season. Ironically, at the back of the ice vans, it says "Mind that child".
This year, the lunatics came out again. One ice cream van permanently parked on the pavement, 4 in loading bays and may be another anywhere it finds. Were Ealing Council asleep or suffering from amnesia? It appears that they were aware of the situation and knew what action was needed to deter such behaviour, as opposed to "what do you expect us to do?"
Peter Mason, Leader of Ealing Council said: "While we welcome traders in all our towns in Ealing, we expect them to have the correct licences and operate legally."
"The council will continue to take action against anyone who is trading or parking illegally. Illegal parking is not acceptable at any time in Southall or any of our other seven towns."
Ice cream vans rules
According to regulations, ice cream vans are required to be in constant motion and are prohibited from remaining parked on unrestricted roads for more than 15 minutes at a time. Once the time limit expires, they must relocate and are not permitted to return to the same location for the remainder of the day.
When ice cream vans remain stationary throughout the day, they are essentially fixed-pitch street traders, operating without a license. Under these circumstances, if the vehicle is parked on the footpath or within a controlled parking zone (CPZ) without a permit, it can receive a parking control notice (PCN) for unlawful parking.
Just one ice cream van received and paid 42 PCNs for illegal parking in the last year.
Furthermore, the trader may also get a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for engaging in unlicensed street trading or deliberately obstructing the highway. Ice cream van operators were issued 35 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) by the council for these offenses within the past year.
Unfortunately, fines and penalties are often viewed as a routine business expense by some individuals, disregarding the fact that such behaviour is illegal. Recent CCTV footage has captured 18 distinct cases of ice cream vans violating regulations, and council enforcement officers will be taking suitable action to address each case.
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