Eat Street here to stay
Published on 30 October 2017
The City of Launceston has voted unanimously to support mobile food vans operating in High Street.
It its ordinary meeting today, the Council voted to adopt its mobile food vendors interim policy.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said he was delighted by the support shown by the community and the food van operators for Eat Street.
"As a Council, we have always supported food vans operating in Launceston - the policy we've adopted today gives absolute certainty around that support and I'm delighted with the way the community has rallied to show how much food vans mean to them," Mayor van Zetten said.
"Obviously there were some issues that needed to be discussed and worked through - primarily around public safety when the food vans are in operation in High Street, but I'm confident that we have the right policy in place in terms of speed reductions and other initiatives to keep the public safe."
Under the new model, a maximum of four food vans will be permitted to trade at St Georges Square, seven nights a week.
Mayor van Zetten said the model will also provide greater certainty for traders by enabling the four spaces to be securely occupied for 12 months. The sites will be publicly advertised every 12 months to ensure that equal opportunities are provided to all food van operators to benefit from the popular High Street destination.
"We've heard loud and clear that the public loves food vans and we want to fully support this, it's a wonderful initiative and one that adds much to the food culture and amenity of this beautiful city," Mayor van Zetten said.
"Going forward into next year, there will be even more exciting spaces becoming available for food vans to operate - such as our magnificent $9 million North Bank redevelopment
"I have absolutely no doubt that food vans will play a huge part in the amenity of this area, providing even more scope for the Launceston community to enjoy the food van culture in what will be the municipality's premier public recreation space."