Council’s ultimatum to reluctant kebab trader

A kebab van operator who rents a pitch in the car park of Brook Way Activity Centre has returned to trade at the site after an absence of seven months.

Ozzy’s Kebabs has been trading again at the site, on Friday and Saturday nights only, since the beginning of April, after Bradley Stoke Town Council issued an ultimatum that threatened immediate termination of contract if the van didn’t reappear by 4th April 2015.

The van had previously been trading seven nights a week, but is understood to have stopped attending in early September 2014.

In October 2014, Ozay Isitman, the owner of the business, told the council that it was running at a loss and he was finding it very difficult to continue trading. He asked the council to modify his contract so that he would only have use of the pitch on Fridays and Saturdays, which was agreed.

By February this year, the van had still not reappeared, although the council appeared to be unconcerned because the trader was “still paying rent for the pitch”.

However, at a council meeting just one month later, councillors were told that Mr Isitman was now in breach of the terms and conditions of hire because of “late payments and non-attendance”.

When allowed to address the meeting, Mr Isitman said he was in the process of acquiring a smaller van and would hopefully be back trading the following weekend.

Following a length debate, held in closed session, councillors decided to issue an ultimatum to Mr Isitman, requiring him to recommence trading by 4th April or lose the pitch.

Having returned just in time to satisfy the council’s demand, Mr Isitman now faces having to renew his annual South Gloucestershire street trading licence, for which he requires a letter from the town council (as landlord) stating that they are happy for him to trade at the site.

Members of the town council’s Planning Committee meeting in April expressed reluctance to specifically name Mr Isitman in their letter to the licensing authority, deciding instead to state that “a trader” was allowed to use the pitch.

The town council’s Finance Committee agreed in October 2013 that up to two food traders should be allowed on each of its three sites, saying that this would be “beneficial for the area, offering residents a wider choice of multi-cultural takeaway food facilities within the town, at the same time as offering an extra income stream for the council”. Trader occupancy across the three sites is currently less than 10% of that aspired level.

Photo: Ozzy’s Kebabs’ new smaller van at Brook Way.

This article originally appeared in the May 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.