Byford residents have come out in support of a drive through coffee van after it was shut down by the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale yesterday following complaints regarding unauthorised trading.
Owners of 3C’s Drive Thru coffee van have been operating from the Byford tavern car park since March but on Wednesday a post on its facebook page said it had been closed until further notice.
The post said the closure was as a result of complaints lodged with the shire.
“As you all know we have always tried to do the right thing,” it read.
“Hopefully you can all support us in getting back to bringing you quality coffee on the run.”
Within an hour the post was shared 11 times, with facebook users expressing disappointment.
One user posted ‘keep up the struggle to survive. What is wrong with Byford in stopping progress???’ (sic).
Others speculated complaints had been made by local businesses, threatened by competition.
Byford business owner Stephen White said he was surprised there had been complaints about the coffee van.
“I thought it was a good idea, I don’t know who would be complaining about it,” he said.
“I think everyone should have a shot at doing different things and this was quite a novel idea.”
The van’s owner Jamie Charlton said he was disappointed about the closure and hoped the van would be running again as soon as possible.
“There have apparently been a couple of complaints and the shire had to act on it because apparently we don’t have proper authority even though we’re on private land,” he said.
“We are disappointed but we are working towards being reopened soon.”
Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale president John Erren said he was waiting for more information and was unable to comment yet.
Mr Charlton had previously applied to operate his van on South Western Highway but the application was rejected by the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale council at the ordinary council meeting on June 29 because of traffic concerns.
At the time councillor Barry Urban said while he supported the coffee van it had to be in the right place.
