Ice cream vans could be prohibited from selling outside schools, during term time or altogether.

Parents have complained that a Mr Whippy van was welcomed onto Swingate Primary School property in Sultan Road, Lordswood.

The head teacher allowed it in because pupils had been darting across a busy road to get to the van.

After a Medway Messenger article, Medway Council was inundated with further complaints from parents and from head teachers.

Medway Council’s licensing and safety committee is to set out a trading policy which will restrict the businesses.

It could mean ice cream vans being banned from stopping in certain streets, or anywhere within 800 metres of a school, between noon and 4pm on school days.

Mark Ellinor director of Ellinor’s Ice Cream, a family-run business which has operated in the Medway Towns for 25 years, said the proposals could severely affect trade and even lead to job losses.

Mr Ellinor, 52, who employs nine people, said: “We operate in areas near schools but do not park up right in front of the gates because we already adhere to licensing laws.

“We haven’t been consulted on this, we haven’t had the opportunity to reply, and it will really damage business. Obviously if we’re looking at cutbacks in sales we don’t have much choice but to look at making staffing cuts.”

The father-of-two’s wife Diane is a partner in the business, as is grown-up son Robert. As well as drivers doing rounds in the Towns, they have vans for hire.

He added: “This is a very annoying knee-jerk reaction from the council which penalises people, rather than tackles the source of the problem.

“People have been eating ice cream for hundreds of years, they haven’t suddenly started causing obesity. Children are becoming obese now because of lack of health education at home and at school.

“Schools only make these demands when it suits them, but they will still serve up burgers and chips at lunch time and hire candy floss vans for fetes.

“All schools are interested in is attainment. My daughter, Bonita, has just finished her A-levels at Rainham School for Girls and after a full day would come home with four of five hours or work a night.

“She said she’d like to take up badminton and join after school clubs but that she was frightened of falling behind on her workload. That’s not how you encourage a healthy lifestyle.”

He also argued that he was charged “a lot of money” for his licence so would expect a reduction if his trading operations were restricted.

The licensing committee could put in place an exclusion zone with an outright ban so the vans cannot operate near schools at all, or it could come up with a street trading policy like the hot food guidance note, and limit when these business can operate.

Head of children’s services Cllr Mike O’Brien said: “I don’t want to be a killjoy, I enjoy an ice cream myself but I have been concerned by the number of vans parking up outside schools.

“Not only because of road safety concerns, but also because it does fly in the face of what the council is trying to do with reducing obesity, so I do welcome these restrictions near to schools.

“I know schools, especially primaries, are doing everything they can to get children eating more healthily. It is an ongoing battle but we are getting obesity figures down, so we’re winning.”

A survey conducted earlier this year found that in Year 6 a third of children in the Towns were overweight or obese, and this is unchanged from last year.

In Reception classes, 21.9% of children were overweight and obese, slightly better than 23.2% last time.

In July last year the council issued planning guidance on new hot food takeaways within 400 metres of a school, which restricted their hours of trade.

Cllr David Brake, head of adult services, added: “This is just one small part of a big jigsaw. We have had some success tackling obesity in the Towns and we need to continue that.

“Educating people does need to improve. We have pupils learning how to make healthy food in schools and taking that knowledge home, because sadly some parents still think that going for a kebab is cheaper than cooking a healthy meal.”

The measures are unlikely to be enforced during weekends and school holidays.
Similar arrangements have been put in place by Leicester, Sheffield and Salford city councils.