Cuneos ice cream van faces ban from pitch by Endcliffe Park for being too successful

Cuneo’s Ices faces losing the right to sell on Rustlings Road by Endcliffe Park after the Parks and Countryside Service said it was costing it £15,000-a-year in lost revenue.

The service takes a cut from Endcliffe Park Cafe and an ice cream van on a pitch by the playground. Cuneo’s was based there until it lost its licence a year ago and moved out to Rustlings Road.

In an objection to the licensing committee, a parks and countryside officer wrote: “We have clear evidence the Rustlings Road ice cream trade adversely impacts the value of the pitch inside the park and anticipate an ongoing annual loss of charity park income of at least £15,000 annually as a direct result.”

Andrew Cuneo said the parks service wanted to see his licence revoked on competition grounds - which was ‘outrageous’.

He added: “Surely the public have a right to whom they spend their money with, not dictated to by the parks department.”

Colleague, Inglana Saqladi, has been appealing to customers on social media.

She wrote: “The service was aware that we had a licence outside the park when they gave the site inside the park to the new vendor. We have not breached the terms of our licence in any way, but Parks and Countryside do not care for how much they have already impacted us as a small established business.”

Barbara Masters, Liberal Democrat councillor for Ecclesall, said: “The Cuneos are fighting for their livelihood and I can’t accept they can be deprived of their business because of what appears to me to be a failure of Parks and Countryside to carry out checks that the business case for ice cream sales in Endcliffe Park was sound.”

The Parks and Countryside objection states the city council has a responsibility to ensure its money is ‘protected’.

It adds: “This application for an ice cream van adjacent to the park is particularly significant as it is affecting a charitable trust with very limited income sources and established retailers.” A decision is set to be made by the Licensing Committee on Tuesday January 10.