Ice cream man's fury after losing 'half' his business overnight due to council 'blunder'

An ice cream vendor claims he lost half his business overnight due to a council error regarding his operating hours.

Calogero Galletta was given permission by Richmond Council licensing officers to extend his trading hours at a spot on Hampton Court Way in 2019.

However, four years later, he was informed that this was a "miscommunication".

In 1996, the council issued separate street trading licences to three mobile ice cream businesses, allowing them to operate at different times on the pitch.

Giuseppe Smeraglia and Lorenzo Galletta were granted licences to trade alternately each month, excluding one Sunday.

Mr Marchese was given a licence to trade on the remaining two Sundays every month.

After the deaths of Mr Marchese and his son, the licence was transferred to his daughter, Carmela Cavallino.

When Mr Smeraglia retired in 2019, the council was asked to transfer his licence to Mr Galletta's son, Calogero. Although this request was denied, the council stated that the licence would not be advertised and Mr Galletta could use the pitch during these hours.

However, a recent council report revealed that while licensing officers permitted this arrangement and placed 'no fault' on Mr Galletta, he 'did not have the legal right to acquire the site', and anyone could apply for it - which Ms Cavallino subsequently did, reports MyLondon.

The council informed Mr Galletta and Ms Cavallino that due to her request, they would have to advertise the pitch during these times, leading both parties to submit applications. The licensing committee of the council convened on May 23 to deliberate on the matter.

During the hearing, Mr Galletta expressed his dismay, recounting how emails from the council in 2019, when he inherited the business from his father, assured him that the licence would 'not be put out to tender', allowing him to operate during Mr Smergalia's established hours. His family has been a fixture at the site for over half a century, trading there for 53 years.

Mr Galletta lamented: "My natural assumption was I carry on as I am and, obviously, we're now four years down the line and are being told by the council it's a mistake, and this is the process, I accept that, but obviously I'm not happy about it because overnight I've lost 50 per cent of my business just by what I personally feel was an error on the council's side... I wasn't really given the full facts of how that licence should have been put out."

Lib Dem councillor Rob O'Carroll sympathised with Mr Galletta, acknowledging that he has been "operating in good faith since 2019 and this is no fault of your own, that there was a miscommunication".

Ms Cavallino, on the other hand, argued that her father had always maintained that if Mr Smeraglia or Mr Galletta were to step down, 'it would only be fair that he then took over to make it easier as well and fair on the days'. This sentiment formed the basis of her application.

She emphasised her 'passion' for the pitch and the long-standing presence of her family's business, which has been trading there since 1960.

Ms Cavallino expressed her desire to continue her father's work, telling the committee: "I'm going to leave it into your hands to make this fair and I'd like to carry on with my dad's legacy and the family business and expand, like we're all trying to expand."

The committee resolved the dispute by equally splitting the trading hours between Mr Galletta and Ms Cavallino. Consequently, Mr Galletta will trade at the pitch every week except for the first two Sundays of each month and the six days following, which are allocated to Ms Cavallino.

The committee described their decision as the 'fairest distribution' of the vacant licence, eliminating 'the need for a rota' between the two parties.