A KEBAB van in Wokingham is battling the council to keep trading at a car park of a youth centre.

BBQ King could soon be forced to close or find a new place to trade after allegations that some customers were smoking cannabis, getting drunk, and urinating in the car park.

Kenan Mursaloglu has been running the BBQ King kebab van near St Paul’s Church on Reading Road, Wokingham, for about 30 years. He used to be set up behind the bus stop, opposite the church.

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But in November 2016, Wokingham Borough Council were concerned about road safety and so told Mr Mursaloglu to move his van to the car park of the Wokingham Youth and Community Centre.

However, when he recently tried to renew his street trading licence, the council told him last November that he wouldn’t be able to use the car park anymore.

Irene Kearns, from the council’s estates department, told Mr Mursaloglu that the “council does not feel that the location of your van in the grounds of the youth centre is compatible with the activities of the youth centre”.

Ms Kearns said some of the kebab van’s customers had been behaving ‘unacceptably’, including throwing kebabs and rubbish over the tennis courts, smoking cannabis in the car park, and urinating in the car park.

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Since March 13, when a height barrier was installed at the car park, Mr Mursaloglu has moved the kebab van onto a verge in front of the car park, in front an electricity connection box.

Karen Court, a council licensing officer, warned that: “This has not been agreed and he is not licensed to trade from this location, so appropriate enforcement action will need to be taken if this were to continue.”

The council refused to renew Mr Mursaloglu’s street trading licence, but he is appealing that refusal. Councillors on the licensing committee will hear his case on May 1, and decide whether to grant the licence, stick with the original decision, or find a compromise.

Jon Payne, from Licensing Lawyers, is representing the kebab van. In a letter to the council, he said: “The applicant denies that these issues are of his making or that arise simply because of his business. 

“Some of these are issues that exist when he is not on the land. The presence of the van actually promotes a valuable community service, particularly at the present time, as well as providing additional security for the premises.

“The only information provided is the suggestion of ‘reports’ of unacceptable behaviour. None of these appear to have been investigated, as far as has so far been disclosed. In view of this, the ‘allegations’ should be considered to carry very little weight, if any.”