A STORM is brewing over the allegedly forced closure of a family-run mobile coffee trailer in Mernda.
The trailer served coffee and toasted sandwiches to early morning commuters and truck drivers on Plenty Road from 5am weekdays until it fell foul of authorities a few weeks ago.
Bec Williams and her husband Leeton claim they had to close their Beanz a Buzzin coffee trailer because Whittlesea council has classified it as a “takeaway shop”, not a mobile venue.
The Williams claim they operated from the car park of an antique shop – the only commercial operation in a rural section of Plenty Road in Mernda – for more than two years before council “changed the rules”.
Mrs Williams claimed that when they opened she was told she did not require a planning permit because the business was mobile and operated on private property.
It was only after an unrelated complaint, over their A-frame advertising boards, that council officers allegedly told her the trailer was now classified as a “takeaway shop” and needed a planning permit, which would be refused because their roadside site was in a rural zone.
“It is not a tacky kebab trailer – it’s worth $60,000 and we serve coffee as good as you get in Lygon Street,” she said.
The business’s Facebook page had almost 150,000 views between October 6 and 12, with increased support from people missing their early brew, she said.
She said her husband had a workplace accident in 2008 and could not work as a carpenter again, so the coffee trailer was their only source of income.
Council spokeswoman Maria Cooke said: “Council is assisting Ms Williams in exploring other opportunities on nearby land, including planning permit requirements. Council has not yet received an application for any alternative site.”
