Monmouthshire County Council has been accused by its own members of standing in the way of independent businesses after an application from an ice cream seller to pitch his van in Abergavenny town centre was denied by the authority

Chris Copner first applied in 2013 to pitch his van near the Post Office in Nevill Street to sell ice-cream, ice-lollies, soft drinks and Norwegian style hot dogs.

The application was rejected as the location was deemed unsuitable because of its proximity to a similar outlet and the fact that the ground outside the post office could not support the weight of the vehicle - a fact which Mr Copner contests as he says a number of vehicles park on that ground during events such as the food festival.

He then submitted another licence application, to trade from a new town centre site at High Cross which last week, was also denied following objections from Abergavenny Town Council, Monmouthshire Highways and Gwent Police which say the van would cause an obstruction to the flow of pedestrians in what was highlighted as the area with the highest footfall in the town.

Despite these objections, many members of MCC's Licensing and Regulatory Committee which considered the application, showed support for Mr Copner and his business idea and condemned the council for 'standing in the way of an independent business'.

Mr Copner told councillors he simply wanted to help rejuvenate the high street and had invested a lot of his own money in a new van.

Many of those present were unhappy to hear from Mr Copner about his recent struggles with the council.

Councillor Frances Taylor said, "It seems to me that this is extremely restrictive and onerous on what could be a positive investment in the locality and I would agree there are an awful lot of shops shut and if Abergavenny can't sustain itself the other market towns have real issues.

Councillor Ruth Edwards said, "I think Mr Copner has an imaginative way of going about this. It is quite different and it's nice to see a young person making a go of it."

Councillor Pauline Watts added, "I think Mr Copner and his partner ought to be welcomed into Abergavenny rather than being told they can't go there. They are putting their money into it and increasing the foot-fall in the town, I just wish there was something like this coming to Caldicot."

Mr Copner also received support for his business from Abergavenny's Mayor, Councillor Martin Hickman, and the Chairman of MCC and Abergavenny Town Councillor John Prosser, who both his van would be a welcome addition to the town.

After lengthy deliberations however his application was turned down due to the unsuitability of the site in question, but Mr Copner was happy to hear that Councillors Hickman and Prosser were prepared to work with him to find a suitable alternative site.

While Mr Copner accepted the outcome of the committee meeting he was despondent about his application being allowed to get this far.

"If they knew that this site would never be viable for this application, why did it get this far? Why did I put my time and money into this application when I was always going to be stopped because of traffic restrictions?" he said.

Monmouthshire's Head of Regulatory Services, David Jones explained that the decision was made after consultation with the various bodies involved and that they were not aware that the application would be rejected until this process was completed.

Mr Davies said, "Objections to the application to trade from the site in question were received from a number of consultees. These included Gwent Police, the council's highways department and Abergavenny Town Council. As such, the application was referred to the committee to decide the matter.

"After due consideration of the consultees' observations and the applicant's submissions in writing and at the committee hearing, the committee decided to refuse the application for the reasons of site safety - the location is inappropriate – and the avoidance of nuisance in the area.

"In arriving at its decision, the committee upheld the objections of the police and highways department."

Following the decision, Mr Copner was further disheartened at the weekend to see that other vehicles were parked on Red Square in the same spot that he'd applied for.

"The council stated I couldn't park there as NO vehicles could be there between 11am and 4pm. Why are those vehicles allowed to park where I am not?"

Mr Jones said in response, "The issue of trading last Saturday at the location where Mr Copner applied to trade was brought to the authority's attention, in relation to consistency of enforcement. The Salvation Army were sited in High Street undertaking a permitted street collection and giving out free teas and coffees. This activity is exempt from the need for a street trading consent."

He also said that the authority will review and revise current practice to ensure that policies are applied consistently.

Mr Copner is also awaiting a further investigation into the conduct of Councillor Douglas Edwards with regard to his applications.

"The Ombudsman seems to feel there is further investigation needed, and I am happy about that. All of this could have been so much more simple if the council communicated with me efficiently throughout both of these applications, and I could have been out of their hair. Sadly that was not the case, and I am keeping this fight going until it is worked out."

As things stand Mr Copner also says he is so fed up with the handling of his applications that he may withdraw his business proposal from Abergavenny.

"I have not yet been given a meeting date from the hearing a week ago. They all seemed keen to help afterwards but it's not forthcoming as yet. Under the extreme circumstances of what has happened I think it's best to pull the investment in the town. The council have my details if they wish to honour a meeting and rectify things," he said.