Greenwich Council sparks fury with plans to BAN ice cream vans from more than 30 streets

• Greenwich council could ban trading in 33 streets – including by Royal Museums
• A planning inspectorate representative warned queues could ‘clutter’ the views 

A London council has sparked fury with plans to ban ice cream vans from more than 30 roads this summer. 

Greenwich Council could ban vendors from trading in 33 streets – including tourist hotspots.

Ice cream vans keep their engines running even while at a standstill to power their freezers and soft-serve ice cream machines such as Mr Whippy. 

This has caused concerns about the amount of pollution they produce, as most vans run on diesel. 

Greenwich council said ice cream vans cause ‘unacceptable levels of nuisance’ and have a ‘negative impact on air quality’ in the area due to ‘engine idling’. 

The impacted areas include 20 roads in Woolwich and 13 in Greenwich town centre, including Greenwich High Road and Cutty Sark gardens. 

They also encompass King William Walk beside Greenwich Park, because of its ‘sensitive’ location next to the Maritime World Heritage Site, which includes the Royal Observatory and Old Royal Naval College. 

A planning inspectorate representative said the queues for the vans would ‘clutter’ the views of heritage sites and create a ‘bottleneck’ in the area.

However the plans, which come after the council received a complaint and two ombudsman enquiries, would also add two new places for ice cream vans to park. 

Vendors could still be allowed to trade for up to 15 minutes on the streets providing that they then move elsewhere and do not return on the same day.

A decision is due to be made on Wednesday at a council cabinet meeting. 

The news attracted backlash on Twitter with one user saying: ‘Hope there’s a backlash from residents. Ice cream vans are part of our traditions.’ 

A second added: ‘Who do these councillors think they are,’ while a third said: ‘Bonkers councils worrying about us having fun as usual.’

Greenwich is not the first London council to implement such a decision. In 2019 Camden Council banned ice cream vans in 40 streets due to environmental concerns. 

A council spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We already welcome the trading of ice cream vans in hundreds of locations in the borough, but itinerant ice cream van trading – defined as trading from a vehicle which goes from place to place – can cause unacceptable levels of nuisance; as well as having negative impact on air quality from ‘engine idling’ in sensitive locations. 

‘This has already been restricted in some areas. The Council is currently reviewing its Street and Ice Cream Trading policy as required by the ‘London Local Authorities Act 1990 (as amended)’. 

‘The draft update to be considered by Cabinet on 14th June adds two places where ice cream can lawfully be traded from via fixed locations throughout the day.

‘Once considered at the Council’s Cabinet meeting, the policy will be subject to consultation for members of the public and other stakeholders to comment.’