The father and son duo that operate the ice cream business—Paul St Hilaire Sr and Jr—have already beaten the council in court once.
In 2023 the local authority was instructed to rerun a public consultation on proposals to ban ice cream selling in King William Walk which cost the taxpayer over £52,000.
At a full council meeting on June 25, Cllr Jackie Smith shared the results of this second court-ordered consultation and proposed King William Walk be officially designated as a prohibited street for itinerant ice cream trading.
Having rerun the consultation, the end result was the same in terms of the council’s decision.
Cllr Linda Bird, Greenwich’s Mayor for 2025/26, began discussing the ice cream agenda item by remarking that the council chamber “could do with them in here” in reference to the high temperatures of the day.
Cllr Smith stated that within the 25 responses to the public consultation there was a “significant majority” that supported the council’s aim to effectively ban the van from operating there, while 28 per cent of respondents opposed the prohibition.
She said: “Unregulated trading has raised concerns about pedestrian safety, environmental health and the preservation of the area’s historic character.
“The council has listened to residents, business and other stakeholders, and the recommendation in this report to prohibit itinerant street trading aligns with the public sentiment.”
Cllr Smith also emphasised that Greenwich Council was not opposed to ice cream trading, just to vans trading in King William Walk primarily due to the potential danger to pedestrians caused by queuing on the busy thoroughfare.
Councillors unanimously voted to approve the recommendations within Cllr Smith’s report, meaning that itinerant ice cream trading will be banned on King William Walk.
However, the St Hilaires are still hopeful they will be the eventual victors of this cold war.
Paul St Hilaire Jr said they will be appealing the council’s decision, and are currently waiting for a High Court date in relation to the council’s separate move to prohibit King William Walk from being a licensed street for trading.
The St Hilaires have had a licence to trade there since 2015, and they feel that Greenwich prohibited the street without telling them because of this, despite them saying they had no complaints against them and that they had paid all the relevant licensing fees.
Mr St Hilaire Jr was also critical of the council for not letting them know that the King William Walk itinerant ice cream trading ban was to be discussed at Greenwich’s June council meeting after he was initially told it was tabled for discussion in July.
He said: “They told me that the decision would be held at the July meeting. I told them to tell me if that changes.
“They didn’t and held the meeting in June. We obviously didn’t attend. We will be appealing the full council’s decision which relates to itinerant ice cream trading.”
