Food van ruling angers traders

Karratha food truck vendors are outraged they will no longer be able to trade in groups of more than five at Dreamer’s Hill, a move they say could cause the closure of many small businesses. After more than a year of revising the Stallholder and Street Trading Policy, City of Karratha councillors last Monday unanimously decided to implement the changes, placing limits on the number of vendors allowed to trade at any approved location, meaning vans would no longer be able to trade in a group of about 10 as they do each night. Despite a 1714-signature petition calling for food vendors to be allowed to continue trading in groups, and 44 submissions to the City objecting to the proposal, the new policy will come into effect in January next year. The City said the changes were a result of traffic issues and safety concerns in the area which it said could not continue unconstrained. Once the new Tambrey Shopping Centre opens, the City said it would conduct a detailed traffic safety assessment with a view to maximise the number of mobile traders at Dreamer’s Hill. It would also consider finding another venue for the vendors to trade together in a large group. Jonny’s Surf Shack owner Caroline Oliveira is among the vendors concerned their business will suffer by not being able to trade in a bigger group. “We thought it was really disappointing. We were hoping for them to increase the number to eight food vans instead of five because we firmly believe we can have eight to 10,” she said. “In the future we could all have our doors close and go broke if we don’t have a place to trade together. We don’t think we will be able to keep running if they split us up.” While the City said it has committed to finding an alternative location for the vendors to trade in a larger group, Ms Oliveira said it needed to be done before January. The Fat Budda owner David Moir agreed, saying he had lost faith in the process. “We have all sort of lost complete confidence in anything that comes out of the City’s mouth to be honest so we will just have to wait and see,” he said. “We have to actually start seeing things happen before we are going to believe it anymore. It’s disheartening really.” The City of Karratha said it was important mobile trading was done safely. “Consultation with traders has resulted in modifications to the policy, including a longer phase-in period for introduction of the revisions, additional trading locations and a commitment to investigate the development of a new site where a large number of mobile traders can co-locate,” the City said. “While there are some additional restrictions being put in place as a result of the policy review, the City’s provisions for mobile traders are some of the most generous in WA.”