Pop-up shops food for debate

• Work underway on the site between Bridport’s Bentley and Main Streets. 

By Tony Scott,
November 17, 2021

A contentious proposal for a temporary Food Park to operate through the summer in Bridport encouraged a big public turn out for the Dorset Council meeting this week.

More than 50 people crowded into the Bridport Football Club function centre, many of them to listen to consideration of the plan, even though it was not on the meeting agenda.

The audience had to wait a little through public question time until local business owner Dianne Cornish asked how the Council could stop pop-up food vans from operating.

“It’s the busiest time of the year for me and helps me through the other months.

“I don’t object to new businesses if we’re on the same playing field.

“But we’re here for 12 months a year and these vans are only going to take the cream.”

Ms Cornish also questioned what the Council would do about increased pressure on parking that is already a big issue in the town.

Mayor Greg Howard told the meeting the council could do nothing about the Food Park. 

He said the Council had implemented a policy of only allowing locally owned food vans to  operate on public land, but the proposal was for up to 10 vans to operate on private land in an urban mixed use zone, where food service was a permitted use.

That resulted in approval being processed in only a few days.

“It doesn’t even need a permit so long as the vans have a food service licence.”

Councillor Howard sympathised with local businesses.

“As a former Bridport business owner myself over some 10 years I know you can have a difficult winter if you don’t have a really big summer to get you through.”

But he said the Council had no room to act.

“To be able to do anything there would need to be changes to the State planning laws.”

The Food Park proponent and owner of the land between Bentley and Main Streets, Allan Barnett, then addressed the meeting, saying the proposal was totally within the law.

“I appreciate the business owners’ concerns but we’re not here to do any one over.

“We’re about bringing more people into Bridport if anything.”

 Mr Barnett said there had been phenomenal growth in the town over recent years but no new shops.

Reminded by the mayor that it was public question time he said he would finish up with one and continued to describe local growth in population of 50 per cent between 1990 and 2015 to 1806 residents.

He suggested business shy of competition should look to buy into a pharmacy, post office or newsagency where restrictions on numbers applied.

“I’ve been a fisherman all of my life and if you council blokes stop other fishermen coming up to the North-East coast and crayfishing against me that’d be beautiful, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.”

Mr Barnett asked if anyone knew how many shops had been built in Bridport over the past 20 years.

“No”, responded the Mayor.

“Well the last food shop built in Bridport I built in 1990 and I went through the same … as I’m going through now.” 

He was eventually asked to resume his seat without posing a question (at least not a rhetorical one), but making it clear the Food Park would proceed on the site, where work is underway to prepare for the vans.

The site does include parking for 11 cars in addition to the food vans, but a longer term plan for parking is taking shape.

General Manager Tim Watson said allowance would be made in next year’s budget to extend the car park next to the CWA building towards the foreshore to allow for 28 more spaces … but not in time for the anticipated busier than ever summer period.