Pizza van by church wins 12-month licence to trade

A family business has won permission to keep selling pizza from a van outside a South London church, after concerns were raised its location was "disrespectful".

Kingston Council has granted Vesuvio on the Road permission to operate their van outside St Pius X Roman Catholic Church, in Norbiton on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 5pm to 10pm which it had been doing under a six-month temporary licence.

The plans received 22 written objections from residents concerned over location, limited parking and access.

Alessandra Rea, who runs the van with her husband Vincenzo, told a licensing meeting on Tuesday that the past six months was proof they could operate responsibly.

The meeting heard from Richard Smith, representing members of the church, said they did not want to stop the business trading.

"Trading from a pizza van at the gates of the church in such a location is demonstrably unsuitable – even, some say, disrespectful," he said.

Smith also said the location of the van caused "disturbance and inconvenience" for churchgoers, particularly disabled and elderly people.

Younes Hamade, the council's principal engineer, also opposed the application due to the "significant demand for on-street parking" in the area.

Rea told the hearing she and her husband understood parking was a sensitive issue but the bays were for the public, not reserved for the church, and there were usually spaces nearby as the business only traded in the evenings.

She said: "We fully respect that this location is beside a place of worship and that there are sensitive occasions such as funerals and weddings."

Rea added that they only sold food, which was mainly pre-ordered for collection, and their customers were mainly local families.

She added: "This is our only source of income.

"We have four children and we rely on this business to feed our family and cover essential living costs."

Rea said a small group of people had tried to stop the business trading by sending repeated complaints to the council, encouraging other businesses to oppose them and creating problems so it was harder to work, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Independent councillor James Giles claimed he had received emails about a handful of people who he believed had been "very abusive and actually quite detrimental to a family that is just trying, in this challenging economic environment, to make a living and make a go of it".

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