Bid to ensure popular Mick's Monster Burgers can permanently remain at its Portsdown Hill home
A bid has been made to ensure a popular burger van has the permission it needs to permanently remain at its Portsdown Hill home.
'Mick's Monster Burgers' has applied to Portsmouth City Council for a Certificate of Lawful Use or Development which states that because it has continuously traded from the Viewpoint Car Park on Portsdown Hill for over a decade it should now be recognised as being lawful.
If granted, this will ensure it has the planning permission needed to stay in place - meaning it cannot be removed under planning rules.
The application states that planning permission for the `use of land for the siting of two mobile vans - one for the sale of ice cream, the other for the sale of light refreshments - was granted in March 1973. It says that this was followed by a series of consents for the siting of a mobile catering trailer' in the 1990s, though no further permissions are available to view on the council’s website.
The application contains information from founder of Mick's Mobile Catering Ltd, Michael Johnsey which states that from 1984-2006, 'Mick's Monster Burgers' traded from the site, but that the unit was returned to an industrial unit at Farlington for overnight storage.
“As demand increased, however, the unit came to be opened at 0700 hours each day and traded until 0200 hours at weekends,” the application said. “Mr Johnsey recalls that Portsmouth City Council granted a licence on 11th January 2006 which allowed the unit to remain on the site throughout the day and night.
“Mr Johnsey also recalls that 'in late 2008', he decided to buy a unit that was not constrained by the requirement to be roadworthy.”
It says that as a result the new ‘burger van’ and associated storage unit were brought to the site in February 2009 and has remained in situ ever since - only closing on Christmas Day.
The application adds that a licence to trade 24 hours a day from the site was granted by Portsmouth City Council in April 2014, and contains supporting statements from customers.
To view or comment on the application visit the Portsmouth City Council website and search for application 24/01494/CPE