One of Britain’s most well-known tourist destinations has become the scene of a “cold war” between rival ice cream vendors.
Shops on the neighboring high street have complained bitterly that a new ice cream van at a well-known New Forest landmark is taking their customers.
Independent coffee shops and ice cream parlors in Lyndhurst, Hampshire claim some consumers won’t bother going there any longer because the van is next to a free parking lot at Bolton’s Bench.
Both Forestry England (FE), a historic organization in charge of maintaining the New Forest, and the Verderers, which is operated by Warren’s Ice Cream, gave their approval for the van’s license.
Local businesses in Lyndhurst, the so-called “capital of the New Forest,” meanwhile, said they are perplexed as to why they weren’t contacted prior to the “ridiculous” choice.
Hilary Brand, a New Forest District Councillor who represents the region, has received a deluge of complaints from locals since it was installed at Bolton’s Bench, which bears the name of the Duke of Bolton, the Forest’s Master Keeper in the 18th century.
In just two minutes’ walk from the van, the 48-year-old owner of the Lyndhurst Tea House on the high street said: “Many high street companies came to me complaining about the new ice cream truck.”
We had hoped that 2022 would be a better year for us, but thus far, things haven’t gone as well as they did before the pandemic, and things are difficult.
We are aware that foot traffic on the high street is down 20% from the time before Covid.
We don’t know if this is due to people not having the money or because they are traveling abroad, but the new ice cream truck may play a role in why they aren’t visiting the main street.
Perhaps the new van is preventing people from shopping and spending money in stores.
“People don’t even need to drive to the main street; they can just park their cars, go on a walk, have an ice cream, and then go home.”
‘It’s not just the ice cream parlors that will suffer,’ said Tim Laine, 71, owner of the Forest Glade Ice Cream shop on the high street. ‘All the shopkeepers on the high street are furious about it because it stops people from going to the high street and spending money.
“While we have nothing against the van’s operator, we believe the license should not have been issued.
We are a family-run business that only operates in the summer, therefore we rely on generating enough revenue to sustain us through the winter.
We had high hopes for a successful season following the pandemic, but there are undoubtedly other factors at play, such as the rising cost of living and the price of fuel.
But some ice cream buyers must be discouraged by the new vehicle. There must be a result.
The manager of Warren’s Ice Cream, Warren Dickens, refuses to respond to criticisms of his van at Bolton’s Bench.
It’s odd for them to set up down the road when there are 17 establishments that serve coffee and cake on the high street, said David Pearson, 59, who has operated the Sweet Chillies café on the high street for nearly ten years.
“I believe it’s terrible.” absurdity absolute. In Bournemouth, you wouldn’t park an ice cream truck on the pier, would you?
Although we are still busy, a queue would ordinarily extend the length of the street in this weather.
A representative for Forestry England stated: “Ice-cream vendors have been permitted to sell their products from mobile units inside a select number of Forestry England parking lots throughout the New Forest for many years now.
The Verderers of the New Forest must approve the exact site and overall number of vendors we are allowed to license, and the issue is discussed in the Verderer’s Court, which is open to the public.
It was thought that the new venue at Bolton’s Bench would compete with the many other hospitality and catering alternatives already present in and around the village. The ice cream vendor expands on the already broad selection of offerings.
In March 2024, the Verderer’s Court will consider ice cream van sites while hearing public comments.