A PETITION has been started following complaints against a catering van parked on a residential estate in Camelford.

At the September 5 meeting of Camelford Town Council, the library was packed with members of the public, one of whom was keen to express his thoughts on a local catering van which has been parked at Pras-an-Ferla, an Ocean Housing development.

The gentleman, a resident of the development, stated he was asking for the removal of the catering van, known as ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, describing it as ‘offensive’.

He told the meeting that the catering van had deeply upset residents, many whom have lived in the Camelford area since the 80s and 90s, due to its connotations with the ‘devil’ and ‘hell’.

He also referred to a similar situation in Rock, where he claimed the local council had removed the van in question which was upsetting residents there, therefore he hoped Camelford Town Council would be able to take similar action.

Describing the van as a ‘monstrosity’, the man said: “It’s up to you as Camelford Town Council to get this thing removed.”

Further into the meeting, councillors noted correspondence from Pras-an-Ferla residents, who have started a petition to request the removal of the Hell’s Kitchen catering van from the site.

Responding to the correspondence, mayor Claire Hewlett said: “Camelford Town Council do not own any land up there, we’re not responsible for any land up there. It’s a Cornwall Housing and Ocean Housing matter.”

Hoping to reassure the resident present, Cornwall Councillor for Camelford, Rob Rotchell, added: “It’s Ocean’s land. I don’t think Camelford Town Council has a role to play in this, but I think there’s a role I have as a Cornwall Councillor and I will take this up with Ocean myself. As a town council, we don’t have any power.”

The meeting heard that the correspondence from residents would receive a response from town clerk Esther Greig.

The Hell’s Kitchen catering van is owned by Camelford residents Sue and Paul Isherwood, who also run the Four Seasons cafe in the centre of town.

Sue and Paul have owned Hell’s Kitchen for four years, having bought the original van when it was situated on Par Market for more than ten years. After buying the rights to the van’s logo and name, the couple sold the original van and left the market, going on to buy the Four Seasons and a new Hell’s Kitchen van for events.

Sue told the Post: “She (the van) had been pitched elsewhere, but we bought her to our home as we did a lot of work on her so she could do events, including Camelford’s Music in the Park this year. We parked her on our parking space, which we pay service charges for, and two of the residents who live in one of the bungalows reported this to Ocean Housing, who own the site, stating that Hell’s Kitchen was blocking their view from their bungalow.”

Following the complaint, Sue and Paul were contacted by Ocean Housing, who ‘politely’ asked if the van could be moved. However, the couple refused this, claiming the information given to the company had not been ‘accurate’.

Sue continued: “It’s our parking spaces we pay for and we need her here so we can keep up maintenance on her. At this time, she wasn’t wrapped fully with her new design.”

Soon after the Music in the Park event at Camelford, the van went off for the new design wrapping, but as soon as the van came back to Sue and Paul, they received another complaint: “The same residents reported us to Ocean again, saying it’s offensive and that they wanted it removed.”

This was followed by a complaint by another household.

Sue said: “Ocean looked into the situation and then informed us that they are not getting involved, as we are not doing anything wrong. It’s not offensive, we don’t trade from our address.”

Sue continued: “These residents also said our van is an advertising van, not a fully functioning catering van, and that we were using it to advertise our business, when in fact the van is the actual business.”

After Ocean took a step back from the situation, a petition was formed by some of the opposing residents, which they presented to Camelford Town Council for correspondence.

Sue said: “Camelford Town Council don’t own the land, Ocean Housing do, but once again our business was referred to as a monstrosity.

“Paul attended the Camelford Town Council meeting and talked to the council members who were surprised to find out it is a catering van. We do a lot of charity and community events with her, we don’t focus just on private events as we are very focused on helping communities.

“We are hoping to book lots more charity and community events next year. You can see by the design it’s all about fun and rock and roll, as Paul and I are down to earth, heavy-metal lovers, and we have legal rights to the name and logo.”

Due to the land within the dispute being owned by Ocean Housing, Camelford Town Council have said they do not have an opinion on the matter.

A spokesperson said: “The town council does not have an official opinion on the matter. The issue is a private one between the tenant and the landlord. The vehicle parked on the path is a Cornwall Council Highways issue. Cllr Rotchell stated that he would look into matters with his ward councillor ‘hat’ on. The petition will be forwarded to the landlord, Ocean Housing.”

Frances Turner, managing director of Ocean Housing, said: “We are aware of a dispute between neighbours at Pras an Ferla and have been in communication with both parties to try and find a solution. We have no legal grounds on which to take any action. We hope that the residents involved can find a suitable way to move forward.”