Food and drink vendors will cease trading in Royal Avenue Gardens at the end of this month.

Dartmouth Town Council voted against allowing a limited number of retail outlets to continue operating in the gardens. The vendors set up shop during temporary Covid measures when it was necessary to socially distance and eat and drink outdoors.

At this week’s full council meeting it was decided by a majority vote that those measures were no longer required as we enter a post Covid world. It was felt by councillors that allowing traders to continue to operate in the gardens would keep trade away from the centre of the town and also create a loss of income for charities when they hire the council run tea hut in the gardens during events.

Despite feedback from residents and visitors on how much they’ve enjoyed the vendors operating in Royal Avenue Gardens, and eating and drinking al fresco, a decision was made to cease licences to traders and allow the gardens to return to their pre-Covid recreational state.

At this week’s full council meeting Dartmouth Town Councillors strongly debated the pros and cons of extending traders’ licences in Royal Avenue Gardens.

Three traders had their licences extended for an extra three months from December to March 31. Those licences will now not be further extended, and any remaining traders will have to leave.

Vendors have been trading in the gardens since the first summer of Covid restrictions in 2020, after a Covid Recovery Forum was set up by Cllr Cathy Campos to help businesses through the pandemic. The vendors – from Dartmouth town centre businesses - were given pitches in the garden while social distancing guidelines were in place. This was extended throughout 2021 when three pitches were tendered for in the gardens. Proceeds from the pitches boosted town council funds.

Cllr Cathy Campos said a Facebook group had said how much people enjoyed having a coffee in the gardens and she’d been approached by people in the town asking if the measures could be made permanent.

At this week’s full council meeting Cllr Campos said reviews on Trip Advisor and Google were very positive about Royal Avenue Gardens and the vendors, and many people enjoyed the atmosphere in the gardens with the vendors present.

Cllr Mike Rowley told councillors he’d undertook market research into public opinions on the issue. He’d spoken to 71 people in December and found 76 per cent said they thought it was a good thing, with all saying limited only to a number of a certain type of trading.

He said he didn’t have a personal opinion – not being a frequent coffee shop drinker himself – but said, based on his research, he would “tend to support a limited number of traders as it appears people in the town are in favour, particularly young people and particularly young mums with pushchairs”.

Cllr Phil Howard said he had concerns about how effective the market research was and whether it represented more the views of holiday makers than locals. He also warned the council and town could lose the support of the Old Dartmothians if the council voted to allow the traders to continue – they’d previously stated the park should remain a park in its original statute from 1880.

He said: “The Old Dartmothians might walk if we allow this. Do we want to take that risk?”

A representative from the Old Dartmothians spoke against the use of Royal Avenue Gardens for outside trading at the Council Assets Committee meeting last month – saying he felt it was morally wrong and that residents should be surveyed further for their opinions.

At this week’s full council Cllr Cathy Campos said the council shouldn’t be “blackmailed” by such a statement from the Old Dartmothians and was promptly encouraged to retract her comment by other councillors present.

Cllr Martin McGowan-Scanlon said his opinion over whether to keep the traders in Royal Avenue Gardens had moved three times.

He said: “For me, Royal Avenue Gardens as a place where people can buy a drink takes away from businesses in the town. We need people to go into the town, not just the gardens, so I’m against any further trading in Royal Avenue Gardens.”

Cllr Mandy Webber asked whether the town council owned tea hut, next to the fountain and hired out to charities for fundraising events, could be rented out to a trader instead, to raise funds for the town. Cllr Dawn Shepherd felt that would deter from the charities’ use and be untenable to share between charity events and a trader.

Cllr Andrea Cates argued that everywhere in the town is at capacity during the summer, and people struggle to find somewhere to eat and drink, so the Royal Avenue Gardens traders would not be competing for trade and should be allowed to stay.

Cllr Dawn Shepherd disagreed and stated: “Everyone had to trade differently during Covid – those times are over now. Our traders have to get through winters with good summers.”

Before a vote was cast, Deputy Mayor Graham Evans, who was chairing the meeting, reminded councillors that continued revenue from Royal Avenue Gardens traders could help reduce the council tax precept.

A vote was cast as to whether councillors were in favour of a limited number of retail outlets operating in Royal Avenue Gardens. Four councillors voted in favour, five against and one abstained. A majority vote was carried that retail outlets in Royal Avenue Gardens will cease trading on March 31.