Sutton council refuse Wallington trader outdoor trading licence to display his goods

7:40am Friday 18th May 2012 in News By James Pepper

Mustapha Suleyman outside Pricebusters in Wallington Mustapha Suleyman outside Pricebusters in Wallington

A shopowner displaying his goods outside his store has been told to take them indoors after objections from councillors.

Sutton Council has ordered Mustapha Suleyman, owner of Pricebusters on Woodcote Road, Wallington, to stop displaying his wears in the street.

Despite paying £115 to apply for a temporary street licence, the licence was refused by Sutton Council.

Mr Suleyman said he relies on his street displays for custom.

The trader says his business was booming back in 2006 when he last had a shop on the road and when he was allowed to have an outside display.

Since returning to the area in February, Mr Suleyman said his takings are town 40 per cent.

He said: "It’s very tough, we are struggling, this is the last thing we need right now. If you look down the road, our [shop] sticks out the least. We rely on that front - it brings people in."

Mr Suleyman believes if the Council sticks to its guns, it could be the end of his business.

"We depend on it we are not doing well as it is."

"It could cause us to close down."

However, the community has rallied behind Mr Suleyman and he has received 1,500 on a petition against the council decision.

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Coun Jayne McCoy, executive member for planning, economic development and housing at Sutton Council, said: "There are a large number of elderly residents and parents with small children and prams who use the Wallington High Street regularly.

"We have had complaints from local residents who do not want to see goods spilling out onto the street, so we have a policy of restricting goods which overflow out of shops onto the main thoroughfares."

Comments(10)

Giles C says...
8:18am Fri 18 May 12

Is that the same Cllr McCoy who allowed multiple trip hazards in the building of the Sutton high street fiasco....Funny when it's on here patch that she objects so vehemently.
McCoy is a menace and hindrance to this borough and must go.

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snoopyseymour says...
11:26am Fri 18 May 12

Look this guy is trying to make a living, there's more than enough pavement room - He's gone into an area that is pretty empty anyway - I think it looks much better - Sutton Council give this guy a break!
Oh - Guardian check your spelling "outside his sstore has been "

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Crease2000 says...
11:46am Fri 18 May 12

I agree, there's loads of pavement space there. It's one of those shops which is an asset to Wallington because if the types of homeware stuff it sells. They should give the guy a break.

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GR-London says...
1:08pm Fri 18 May 12

I think the council need to be clear why they object to the display outside this shop, because it cannot be on the grounds of not enough space – there is enough room and more to drive a bus down that pavement!

It is difficult to have any faith in a ‘Sutton Council’ decision after the absolute dogs dinner they made in Sutton’s town centre.

I notice that the trip hazards they had put in have still not been removed.

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Sutton53 says...
3:20pm Fri 18 May 12

We need a wind of change through Sutton Council. Has Jayne McCoy based her committee's decision on fact? The Lib Dems have got used to getting their own way, however outlandish their views and decisions are. Sutton High Street has been an accident hotspot for the disabled, elderly and children when it was 'renovated'. Shop owners have been putting their items to sell on pavements for years. It has never been a problem. How many 'complaints' has Sutton Council had regarding vendors and pavement displays? There is a similar sort of shop in Sutton High Street, leading up to Sutton Station, I haven't noticed that it has been told to take their goods back into their shop. It is a pedestrian area as well.

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Edwy82 says...
4:56pm Fri 18 May 12

There's lots of room for outside display in that area. He's trying to make a living. And it's better than when that store was empty.

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paddy_h says...
8:39pm Fri 18 May 12

Once again the 'little person' is slapped down. If starbuck's or costa applied for a license they would be granted permission for tables, chairs and 30sq metres of advertising hoarding. How I love paying my 'inflated' council tax to plug the gap in Cllr McCoy's gold plated pension pot.

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Krissi says...
11:12am Sat 19 May 12

We need all the small businesses we can get- especially now. This shop is one of the reasons I shop in Wallington rather than Sutton as Sutton is nearly all chain shops now

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anonymous0608 says...
1:02pm Sat 19 May 12

The pavement is more than big enough to display this mans goods. Surely the council could agree, but put a limit on how much space of the pavement it can take up if necessary? I have walked down Wallington High Street with my pushchair enough times and there is plenty of room to get past, the only time you will trip is if your not looking where you are going! Councillors should invest there time better stopping things happening that actually require it. If this business has to close down, we will hear the council moaning about how many empty shops there are, its things like this that cause businesses to fall under and people to end up on jobseekers allowance. We should be helping our local businesses to do well, not making it more of a difficult time for them, in what is already a difficult time in this country!

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Smitham1 says...
12:49am Mon 4 Jun 12

I am a carer by profession and have been caring for the elderly for the past nine years. I take my service users to wallington high street on regular basis and don't understand what the fuss is all about. The shop in question has a neat display outside the shop, which allows plenty of room for the elderly to move around freely and young family with prams to move past the shop with ease. I have a service user who relies on the mobility scooter and he is able to move freely around the area in question. Cllr McCoy you really need to walk the Borough and order the other shops who display their goods on much narrow footpath which is also a pedestrian way. Cllr McCoy we urge you to reverse your decision and allow Price buster to dsplay their goods and be part of wallington trader, who has brought some liveliness to the area which was once a dull little corner. We would be interested to see evidence of complaints from the elderly and families and also evidence of similar action taken with the other trader by Cllr McCoy.

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