'Crushing news!' Seaside town BANS decades-old tradition and dishes out £1k fines
Locals are in uproar in the seaside town of St Ives after the council imposed a set of strict new rules which could throw a decades-old pastime into chaos.Ticket sellers for pleasure boat trips in the Cornish surf town have traditionally touted their services to tourists at a gate next to its lifeboat station.But now, council bigwigs have reduced the number of ticket booths for boat trips from 16 to 10, and have forced all sellers to operate solely from a small set of locations.Those caught selling tickets elsewhere now face immediate fines of £100 per day, with warnings that penalties could escalate to as much as £1,000.The controversial measures have sparked outrage among boat operators, who claim the council is threatening their livelihoods.St Ives council bigwigs have reduced the number of ticket booths for boat trips from 16 to 10PAEnforcement officers have already begun approaching ticket sellers to enforce the new regulations.The changes have particularly impacted companies with multiple types of boats, as they are now restricted to just one booth regardless of how many trips they offer.This applies even when businesses are separate limited companies with the same directors, forcing them to squeeze into a single selling location.One company is said to have lost its pitch entirely - despite being in business for more than five years.And the restrictions have already caused significant disruption during the profitable Easter holiday period, with operators claiming they've lost thousands of pounds.Karen Gilbert, of Nemo Glass Bottom Boat Trips, said: "I hope there can be a solution. We're not saying you can keep adding more and more, but let's cap it at... the 16 that had a licence last year and not destroy these historic businesses."MORE COUNCIL MADNESS:The boat trip firms operate from a gate next to St Ives's RNLI stationGOOGLEMeanwhile, the St Ives Pleasure Boat Association described the situation as "crushing news" for worried business owners.They attempted to negotiate by accepting they would lose their spot by the gate while proposing additional booth locations, which was "immediately shut down" by the council.The association says it made a "desperate plea" for temporary licences during Easter - but was flatly refused."We have lost thousands already," the association said on social media, adding: "A century of Cornish tradition wiped away in the blink of an eye."But the council has vowed its changes were brought in after concerns were raised by the RNLI and complaints were flagged by both the public and other businesses about sellers' behaviour.LATEST FROM THE SOUTH WEST:'A century of Cornish tradition wiped away in the blink of an eye,' furious locals have saidPA"The RNLI asked that touts did not trade from the gate, and the highway manager was concerned about so many people standing on the road," a council spokesman told the BBC.They insisted that licences were issued "to all but one business" and that "all of them are now trading for the season".Town clerk Louise Dwelly also rejected claims that the council is stopping heritage pleasure boat trade."All we're trying to do is get businesses to have a booth, be identified and sell tickets in a professional way," she said.
