A street trader has lost his permission for his pitch in Reading town centre over claims he failed to use it.
Salim Alami has been a street trader for 16-20 years, and currently has a right to sell burgers, loaded fries, cold drinks and more at a pitch outside Clarks in Broad Street.
But he has faced opposition from Robert Smalley a Reading Borough Council licensing officer, who accused him of consistently failing to trade throughout the year.
A hearing of the council’s licensing applications sub-committee was held after Mr Smalley applied to have the street trading licence revoked.
During the meeting, Mr Smalley stated investigations revealed that Mr Alami has failed to trade in accordance with the times defined on his licence.
He said: “We are out on Broad Street every day pretty much, you have consistently been off, across months and months.”
Mr Alami argued that he struggles to trade in the winter as his current unit was not suitable for hot food sales.
He said: “My unit wasn’t suitable for hoot food, it’s not a catering trailer. I went out last year, and I tried to do different products, donuts, waffles, curries, and Turkish pastry.
“What we found is we didn’t have enough space and we were losing customers, we needed a gas-powered oven.
“To do hot food better, I would have to change my trailer, I would need two food preparation tables.”
Mr Alami stated that he would have to pay £25,000 for a used trailer on sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, and £50,000 for a new one.
He said: “There isn’t that much opportunity for me, all these things have to be considered.”
Mr Alami also mentioned a council public space policy that limits which trailers can be used.
He said: “The working environment is really toxic, I know when to work, I’ve been in the town centre since I was 9 years old, living it is different than just hearing it. From my point of view, I’d like to trade during the week when I want to.”
He maintained that he consistently trades in the summer, but admitted the street trading stand is not his main source of income.
Cllr Paul Woodward (Labour, Church) said: “You’re depriving us of the pleasure of your company when you are not trading.”
He then argued allowing Mr Alami to keep his licence would deprive other potential street traders of a spot.
Councillors chose to revoke the licence at the meeting today (Thursday, June 26).
The revocation will come into effect on Thursday, July 17.
Mr Alami has the right to appeal.
