Cafe customers made a stand against a ban on alfresco tables and chairs – by staging an open air sit-in. More than 60 people brought their own chairs and tables to demonstrate at the Cafe Continental in Montague Place, Worthing.Heh!
They were protesting at the ban imposed by West Sussex County Council and Worthing Borough Council.Oh, let me guess? Health and safety?
The councils ordered business owners Trevor and Sue Jones to remove all alfresco tables except for two under the cafe's canopy.Well, naturally. And can we get a bit of 'left hand/right hand' disengagement?
They ruled the furniture was a “highway hazard” even though it had been placed outside for 14 years without a problem.
This is a local council; of course we can:
Mr and Mrs Jones and their customers were stunned because tourism officials were promoting the town's cafe culture.D'oh!
And here's a clue as to the sudden desire for councils to have their own in-house newspapers to outcompete the local, often critical, independents:
Saturday’s protest was organised by the Worthing Sentinel, sister paper of The Argus.It seems to have worked to back the council down - for now:
The borough council said it would not enforce the ban while it negotiates with the county council and Mr and Mrs Jones to find a solution.Comments, as always, are interesting. Particularly this one:
mikepailthorpe, worthing says... So the tables outside the privately run Continental on Montague Place are a hazard - but the tables next door at corporate Costa are ok?.Intriguing, no?
So the tables outside the privately run Continental on Montague Place are a hazard - but the tables next door at corporate Costa are ok?.
ReplyDeleteHmm - I'm not so sure about this comment, assuming I've got the right place here There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of pavement outside Contenental, whereas the Costa seems to be in a pedestrianised area.
What about all that "Street Furniture"? Those too must be Highway Hazards. All those poles sticking up out of the pavement with signs & notices on them; all those street lights; all those litter bins.
ReplyDeleteI trust the safety-conscious council will remove those. Immediately.
Terrible hazard they are, you constantly hear about people seriously injuring themselves on these chairs, it costs the NHS £[made up figure] billions every year treating the victims. I for one applaud this council!
ReplyDeleteAs a Land Value Taxer, I say there is a simple answer, charge cafes rent for the amount of pavement space they use, end of discussion.
Terrible hazard they are, you constantly hear about people seriously injuring themselves on these chairs, it costs the NHS £[made up figure] billions every year treating the victims.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the millions of deaths every year from second- and third-hand chair injuries.
(Incidentally, pan right [facing north], and you'll see some temporary street furniture that looks more of a risk than any chairs on the pavement, despite Elfin Safty's decorations.)
MW,
ReplyDeleteNo need to do that, as the Value of the Cafe's Land is influenced by the surroundings. That's the whole point of the LVT.
Follow PJH's link to the Google street-view, rotate to look north. Zoom in on the police car parked on the double yellow lines. No driver!
ReplyDeleteThat vehicle is ILLEGALLY parked!!
/facepalm
"There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of pavement outside Contenental, whereas the Costa seems to be in a pedestrianised area."
ReplyDeleteIt seems pedestrianisation for that street would solve a lot of the problems, as there's bound to have been population changes in 14 years.
It's a shame the council didn't think of that.
"What about all that "Street Furniture"? Those too must be Highway Hazards."
You'd think so, but I suspect there's a get-out clause for the state somwewhere.
"Zoom in on the police car parked on the double yellow lines. No driver!
That vehicle is ILLEGALLY parked!!"
One law for them...