A PUB boss could be forced to remove a trailer which sells seafood from his premises amid fears it creates “danger” for road users.
Steven Haslam, company director of The Victory, in Coast Road, West Mersea, has been running the service since May.
However, he did not seek planning permission for the trailer until the following month in June.
Mr Haslam submitted a bid to site the trailer from April to September at the front of the pub, in its car park.
“This will enhance trade which is vital to the viability of this business, with Covid and the current economic climate,” he wrote.
“We also believe it is a great addition as tourism to the island is key to all businesses on the island.”
Mr Haslam said the weeks between May and June where the service was run without planning permission was a “trial period”.
He said it proved to be a “welcome addition” to his business, adding: “[It] has been well received”.
But Colchester Council’s planning officers refused the businessman’s application after it included nine objections, including from West Mersea Town Council.
They said the seafood trailer would have an “unacceptable impact on highway safety” if it was made permanent.
“The seafood trailer is likely to lead to motor vehicles being displaced into the nearby streets causing conditions of obstruction, congestion and danger and adding to the existing parking stress in the area,” states a planning decision.
Officers also said the trailer has an “incongruous impact” on West Mersea Conservation Area.
The Victory’s planning application came soon after the owners of West Mersea Oyster Bar, which closed earlier this year, were permitted to transform their former business into a takeaway service.
One objector to Mr Haslam’s plan said the trailer would be in competition with other businesses “who pay rates”.
The town council said its members unanimously agreed on informing Colchester Council of a desire for the planning application to be refused.
A statement detailed concerns about the trailer “blocking” the pub car park’s entrance and of a loss of parking.
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