Council orders seafront chippy to stop selling ice cream

A seafront chippy has been ordered to ditch its ice cream after Portsmouth City Council ruled the sales were not permitted under its lease.

Portsmouth City Council has sparked controversy after ordering the Anchorage Fish and Chip Shop on Clarence Esplanade, near the Blue Reef Aquarium, to stop selling ice cream.

The council, which owns the leasehold, wrote to the business stating that selling and advertising ice cream constituted a breach of its lease.

The letter, dated July 10, says: “|It has come to our attention that you are selling ice cream from the premises and have erected a large ice cream cone and associated signage”.

It states that selling ice cream falls “outside the scope of permitted use” for a “fish and chip shop/takeaway”, adding that any signage and advertising must be “appropriate” for the property’s permitted use.

The letter also says advertising cannot be displayed on the exterior of the building without the landlord’s approval, “which must not be unreasonably withheld”.

It instructs the shop to stop selling ice cream “immediately” and remove all related advertising, including the large ice cream cone and any signage.

After reading the letter, Ilidio Rodrigues, one of the leaseholders, removed all the advertising.

He said: “and I’m seeing if I can get a lawyer”.

Mr Rodrigues said the decision will “hurt the business” as the shop recently bought a £14,000 ice cream machine.

“Without advertising we don’t get anything – we have very expensive rent here for what we’ve got, it’s a serious amount of money”

Mr Rodrigues said the business pays the council nearly £30,000 a year in rent, in addition to business rates.

He added it is a “summer business” and has sold a lot of ice cream since installing the machine.

A Portsmouth City Council spokesperson said: “Restrictions around a type of food and drink a business can sell are in place to protect other businesses operating nearby and to ensure the overall food and drink offer is right for a particular location and the people visiting.

“In this case, a number of dedicated ice cream sellers are located in the immediate vicinity, and allowing a breach of lease could directly harm the income of other local businesses nearby.”

In closing the council expressed it want to support “all the city’s businesses” and the owner of Anchorage fish and chip “has acknowledged its breach and confirmed the business has taken the appropriate steps to rectify it”.