A war of words has broken out between St Ives pleasure boat operators and the town council over a request for the former to operate from booths on The Wharf.
Boat trip kiosks at the top of the slip outside the Sloop Inn. Others can be found along Wharf Road
The change has come in response to concerns from the RNLI, and complaints from the public and other businesses along the Wharf about some of the behaviour and number of ticket sellers at the lifeboat gate, says the town council.
“Some businesses are unhappy about the change,” said the town council. “They generally object to two aspects: being asked to move from the gate; and also, where owners have more than one vessel, to having a single booth for their boats.
“Businesses want space to trade, but there is also a need to ensure that other road and harbour users can enjoy the space.”
The town council said it had issued licenses to trade to all but one business.
The St Ives Pleasure Boat Association said its members had requested to remain at the lifeboat corner a location that, for generations, has been the first and most familiar point of contact for its boat trip bookings.
“In an effort to find a fair solution, we then proposed that all trading businesses are to be relocated fairly, so that we could continue to operate on equal footing from April onwards,” said the association in a social media statement.
“The council’s response was to offer 10 locations, despite being fully aware that there are 16 active trading businesses which they had previously licensed over the previous years. To claim that all but one business has been licensed this year is categorically false. We ask St Ives Town Council: how many individual limited companies were issued licences last year? The correct answer is 16, yet you have only licensed 10 this year!
“A limited company is a legal entity in its own right. It is not the council’s place to arbitrarily group businesses together. Doing so is not only incorrect it may also constitute a breach of the Equality Act 2010. We are now seeking all available avenues of support on this matter.”
