Coffee shop bus owners told to move on in planning row

Tunbridge Wells coffee bus in conflict with council over right to be at Hawkenbury pub car park

Transcript

00:00Jump on a bus and you'll often see commuters drinking a coffee, but how about buying yours on board?

00:09Just two years ago, this bus was driving passengers around the Weald of Kent.

00:14Today, it's not too far away, parked up in Tunbridge Wells, serving coffee.

00:20It still looks like a bus, and it still has the bell.

00:25But the business could soon be stopping after a planning row with the council.

00:30A letter has been sent to the owners, telling them they need planning permission.

00:34But they say it's private land, and the owner of the car park is completely happy for them to be there.

00:40So to kind of be told like, oh yeah, you have to move based on the fact of, you know,

00:45we were told explicitly, you know, verbatim, a grey area.

00:49I feel like it's quite insulting to people who are trying to start a small business.

00:54And not only that, it kind of feels like a waste of kind of the council's resources, to be honest.

00:59We're not affecting anybody.

01:00Two months ago, three idiots embarked on a project of a lifetime.

01:03With no gear, no idea, no...

01:05Social media sensation for professional idiots converted it last summer.

01:09And now owners Niamh and Luke have intentions of touring the country in it.

01:14But costly repairs mean the bus is unable to drive.

01:18The argument to the council, time and money is needed to fix it.

01:22And a petition has started in a bid to make the authority rethink its decision.

01:27It is feeling like it's a big part of the community at the moment.

01:32And the support has been quite, quite, quite touching.

01:36In about 24 hours, we had over 700 signatures.

01:40It was so reassuring, honestly.

01:43Most of our business is regulars.

01:45Since opening in November, locals say it's become the heart of the community.

01:50There's not really a coffee shop in the area.

01:52And certainly for people like myself, it's easy to stop by.

01:58They're always friendly, and I think they're doing a great job here.

02:01In a statement, the borough council says they received a complaint about the moving mug in December.

02:06And others have since followed.

02:08And say they've been speaking to the owners to try and find a way to resolve the situation

02:13without the need for formal enforcement action.

02:16Plans are in place for a festival tour this summer.

02:19But could it now be the end of the line for this location in Kent?

02:24Gabriel Morris, in Tunbridge, Wales.