Shire of Augusta-Margaret River council backs new policy for mobile vendors after Gracetown food fight

The shire council has made its final determination on the contentious issue of food trucks, but it still looks as if the new policy will not please everyone. At Wednesday’s Shire of Augusta-Margaret River meeting there were multiple attempts to amend the policy which has been in development and the subject of workshops for months. Deliberations focused mainly on contentious clause 5.6 of the policy which was seen as protecting Gracetown’s Gracies General Store by restricting food trucks until after 4pm. Initially, Cr Ian Earl failed to win a majority vote to remove references to Gracetown from the policy altogether. He said “a clear, shire-wide policy” was needed. After that bid failed, Cr David Binks then sought to include Witchcliffe in clause 5.6, though it would still allow vendors on private property without restrictions. That amendment was lost too, with new councillor Melissa D’Ath saying elected members had to honour feedback from community consultation. “Leaving it (5.6) in the policy helps the community feel like they’ve been heard through that whole consultation process,” she said. But, Cr Binks said it was “entirely inappropriate” to favour Gracies in policy development despite being a regular customer himself. “It is appropriate for us to have a level playing field,” he said. Cr Kylie Kennaugh backed the change, saying she wished she “had this level of support for my small business with people setting up businesses that are similar to mine”. “(Clause 5.6 citing Gracetown) should be removed completely,” Cr Kennaugh said. “It is a very dangerous path to go down.” A separate amendment was floated by Cr Binks that finally nixed specific references to Gracetown, with Crs D’Ath and deputy Shire president Tracey Muir voting against it. However, Cr D’Ath’s amendment to clause 5.5 of the new policy achieved the spirit of concerns about conflict between mobile vendors and ratepaying businesses. “The approved locations shall have permit days and times restricted through the expression of interest process to reduce conflict with existing food and beverage businesses and use by community groups,” it said. Despite the debate, shire sustainable development and infrastructure director Nick Logan said whatever the final wording of the policy was, officers would still exercise discretion in approving permits to ensure fixed businesses were not disadvantaged. While the Gracetown matter was resolved by the final decision, the meeting was also told other locations could prove equally problematic. Speaking on behalf of food truck operator Bernadetta Simoni, a ratepayer put to councillors that planning for two vendors at Surfers Point was poor design and would affect nearby operators Sea Gardens and The Common. “Do you know that putting two savoury food vans will end up making no profits for either of the two and ruin both of their businesses and their hard work?,” the resident said. Ms Simoni’s representative questioned adequacy of parking spaces, power supply, logistics around setting up as well as that the permit fees would remain unchanged despite sharing the same location. Shire president Julia Meldrum confirmed the fees remained and mobile vendors “offer a different customer experience” to brick-and-mortar eateries.