Backdown from council a 'small win for little guys'

Simon Gooding will benefit from the modified half-day charges. Photo / Doug Sherring

Mobile vendors facing sizeable fee hikes have scored a "small win" over Auckland Council.

Last month, the Herald on Sunday revealed street vendors were upset with a bylaw change designed to clamp down on the booming industry. Some questioned the viability of their business after being notified of $500 rises annually over the next three years.

But Auckland Council has confirmed it is altering the bylaw to be more accommodating to some small business holders.

Council wanted to charge vendors a daily flat fee for renting space. But traders such as coffee franchisees said the concept was unfair because they stood to be charged the same amount for staying in a spot for a couple of hours as a seller who parked all day.

In response to feedback, council has agreed to introduce a half-day option, making small businesses more viable. The changes included cheaper rental for businesses that operated for fewer than four hours a day.

"We have agreed to offer a monthly rental rate that is now based on half of the full day rate," an Auckland Council spokeswoman told the Herald on Sunday.

Retail Food Group's business development manager, Ruby Gibson, applauded the council's move saying it's a "small win for the little guy".

Franchisees for its Coffee Guy operation were among small business operators who were upset at the size of the proposed fee hikes.

"The original changes were quite unfeasible for Coffee Guy franchisees, in particular, who are only in a space for a couple of hours a day," Gibson said.

"With us harassing them and the piece in the newspaper, they have come to realise there's a bit of a glitch and have brought in a half-day rate. It's fantastic."

The Herald on Sunday revealed on June 28 that Auckland Council was changing its charging structures to mobile food vendors to "ensure the outdoor dining, mobile trading and events contribute to the vibrancy of Auckland".

Simon Gooding, who runs a mobile coffee franchise, said under the proposed charges his annual fees would have risen from $1,200 to $4,620.

"I may only be there for a few hours but I'm still being asked to pay the same rental fee as a business that is there for the entire working day," he said at the time.

Gooding is one of many vendors who will now benefit from the modified half-day fees.