Aberdeen City Council has poured cold water on plans to add more vendors to the booming beach food truck scene.
The local authority deferred five new applications for food truck licences at the Fittie end of Aberdeen beach, citing concerns about overcrowding and litter.
Applicants say they are now thousands of pounds out of pocket because of the decision, which one branded as baffling.
A public consultation now will be held to determine the food trucks’ fate. However council members voiced fears over the licences, which could increase the number of vendors on the beach to 26.
One councilor warned about a “proliferation” of food trucks if left unchecked. Another said both Fittie residents and beach-front restaurants had “growing concerns”.
The council’s decision was a surprise to those applying for the licences, some of whom have already bought mobile catering vans for designated beach-front pitches.
The vendors say the decision risks stifling the beach’s nascent food truck scene that in the past three years has attracted a diverse range of eating options.
The flourishing food truck culture is most evident at the south, or Fittie, end of the beach where beach goers can enjoy everything from vegan fish and chips and barista-pulled coffee to plant-based cinnamon buns.
‘I cannot go anywhere’
The deferred applicants now face a period of uncertainty.
Danielle Smith owns Sweet Toots Cakery and had planned to expand the Newburgh bake shop she runs from home to the beach in time for summer.
“I’m truly baffled by it,” Danielle Smith says of the council’s decision last week.
She fears that the £7,000 she spent on the move – including buying a catering trailer – will go to waste.
“My hands are tied,” says Danielle, who sat in the council meeting “in shock”. “I cannot go anywhere with my trailer.”
Martha Rennie has also been left high and dry.
The Bucksburn Academy home economics teacher hatched plans with her mum Susan to open an Asian street food truck on the beach called Moshi Moshi.
The £8,000 catering van Martha bought was all set to move into a spot just next to to Cairn Coffee at the Fittie end of the beach.
She will now hit the Aberdeenshire farmers market circuit to try and claw back her investment.
“It is very frustrating,” the 26-year-old says.
“The fixed location [at the beach] would have been the ideal thing. And I don’t know where else in Aberdeen would be suitable.
“Down at the beach just seems like the perfect spot for a little street food market.”
Food truck numbers could rise to 26
Five licence applications were deferred at the council meeting, including one from local burger and loaded fries specialist Aberdam.
Among those calling for the public consultation was Councillor Dell Henrickson, who represents the harbour area of Aberdeen that includes Fittie.
He warned that if all licenses were granted the number of vendors on the beach would rise to 26.
“I hope the consultation will consider the residents in Fittie, who I know that this is a growing concern for them over the last two years, and the traders that have fixed premises” councillor Henrickson said.
Councillor Marie Boulton was first to raise questions over the new licences.
“There is a concern you can get a proliferation of these types of things,” she said. “There is also a wider concern over traffic, litter that type of thing.
“It could have a real detrimental impact if we don’t look at it more strategically.”
It was not immediately clear when the consultation will be held. The council was approached for comment.
The risk of neglecting the Fittie food scene
Until the public consultation runs its course, both Danielle and Martha are left ruing an opportunity to get set up in time for the beach’s busy summer season.
“It’s disappointing because we were going to lose quite a lot of trade,” Martha says.
As for concerns about overcrowding, Danielle says: “There’s room for everybody. I think everyone needs to realise that.”
And she has a warning for the council.
“If you go down to the Fittie end of the beach, it is the Millennials that are setting up there,” she says. “This is the next generation that is going to be running Aberdeen food. It is our voices that need to be heard.”
