“They’ve been taking pictures of our menu and sitting outside watching our customers,” said Mr Mann
John Mann, a director with his wife Margaret of the Re-Use Community Project, in Kiln Farm, objected to street trading consent being given to Matej Berec’s application to sell pizza on the roadside in Burners Lane.
“They’ve been taking pictures of our menu and sitting outside watching our customers,” said Mr Mann, whose charity helps homeless people.
In documents provided to the meeting Mr Mann also alleged that he had been told by a number of his customers that the pizza trailer operator had approached his customers to tell them he would be trading.
“This says to us that he has every intention of poaching our customers and he is already trying to do so.”
But Stacey Corrigan and Matej Berec, of Stantonbury-based Berec Catering Services, denied the allegations when they came face-to-face with objectors at the Regulatory Sub Committee of Milton Keynes Council.
Stacey Corrigan challenged Mr Mann to provide evidence for his claims. “We never did any such things. It’s very hurtful to say that. If you have the footage, please provide it.”
Mr Mann and his wife have been running their community project for 11 years, and three years ago they started up a cafe. But recently businesses have left the area and their trade has suffered.
Mrs Mann said: “It’s not really a cafe, it’s like a burger van but inside. We’ve lost three big contracts when companies moved out but we still have to pay our rents, rates, water, and we give free food to homeless people.”
The couple wanted the traders to use another street, instead of Burners Lane, but the committee was told it could only decide on the application in front of it.
The applicants said they had moved their application site 250 metres away once the cafe objected. Stacey Corrigan said: “Sorry for the application outside your premises; we don’t want to step on any toes.”
They said their pizza business could bring in more people to the area, who would then also use the Re-Use Centre.
Committee chairman Cllr MIck Legg (Lab, Bletchley West) said: “There is a good chance they will come to both of you, but we cannot predict that.
“We have decided to grant the licence, we do not feel there is enough to warrant refusal.”
But the applicants were told that they would only be able to sell from the pitch from 10am to 1pm as they were first time operators, to “see how it goes”.
“If you cannot get to that pitch, you won’t be able to park anywhere else, it is your own risk,” said Cllr Legg.
