Over 1000 people have signed a petition in support of a local coffee van which may have to shut up shop after West Lothian Council increased its rent.
So far, 1181 people have given their backing to The Caffeine Fix van, which is based at Almondell and Calderwood Country Park.
The van’s owner, Alastair Davison, says along with increasing his rent, the council has also severely restricted what he can now sell.
He said: “In lockdown we were at the park two or three days a week and we found that with the visitor centre being closed we were asked to sell crisps and apple and orange juice and things like that.
“Although it wasn’t actually on our licence, it was worth doing and no skin off my nose to go to the whole sellers and pick up some crisps and juice.
“But when the visitor centre opened and we moved into the new licence with the council, they then said we’re going to increase your rent but you can’t now sell crisps and juice.
“We had also asked to do some ice cream outside. We weren’t actually going to interfere with anything they were selling in the visitor centre, which is mostly kids-orientated stuff, it was more aimed at adults.
“My core business isn’t selling crisps and juice, but if I have a family of four coming up and mum and dad want coffees, and the kids want juice I can’t then sell that.
“I just seems silly to me to say we can’t sell crisps and juice anymore or ice cream of any sort.
“We were never looking to take business away from the visitor centre and, in fact, I had spoken to the park rangers about getting something inside the centre so we could get kids in doing some voluntary work, so it’s not in my interest for the visitor centre not to do well.”
Alastair said his van has been based at Almondell for around two years, employing two members of staff, one of which is looking elsewhere due to the uncertainty of the future for the van after Alastair said he is considering moving it somewhere else.
He continued: “I don’t think the council are aware of the logistics behind running the van, they think we can just turn up.
“But all it takes is a little increase and I’ve got to look at my figures and wonder if it’s really worthwhile doing it.
“We’re outside too so all it takes is some bad weather. I can’t expect me and my staff to stand outside in a park in the pouring rain, so these sort of things are an ongoing problem as well.
“I don’t want to move the van because we’ve worked really hard and as you can tell by the petition, we are wanted there. We’ve been blown away by the amount of support, but it has to be viable at the end of the day.
“I could put prices up and that might help, but ultimately I don’t benefit from that and the customers don’t benefit, the only ones who benefit are the council.”
The petition was launched by local man Alan Sneddon, who said: “The coffee van is a popular resting point with many people who use the park, including dog walkers cyclists, and young families, not to mention dogs themselves.
“However, West Lothian Council are significantly increasing the rental from August and using the licence to restrict what can be sold.
“This could lead to not only the loss of the coffee van, but also the jobs of those working there now and in the future, including Daniel who recently received loads of thanks for voluntarily tidying the mess left by others in the meadow. This petition calls on the council to reconsider both the rental increase, and to allow sales of items such as specialised ice creams, which are not sold in the visitor centre.”
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “West Lothian’s superb country parks are free for everyone to use, and rent from commercial tenants such as this helps generate valuable income towards their maintenance and improvement.
“In this instance, an initial rent was agreed for a trial period to see if the business would be viable at this location.
“We believe the suggested rent increase is fair for the commercial potential of the site, and is still below what more established traders in comparable locations currently pay.
“We commonly put in clauses limiting what businesses in our country parks can sell, to avoid duplication with existing businesses and services already on offer.
“We have yet to receive any petition regarding this tenant, and any petition we receive will follow the agreed council procedures.”
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