Portishead firm loses battle for eatery in park

A ice cream and food kiosk will not be built in a Portishead park after an appeal for the business was thrown out by an inspector amid fears the area would be ‘harmed’.

North Somerset Council last year rejected plans put forward by Guisy Amico for a permanent food business to be built in Pill Park off Harbour Road.

It believed the site should be kept as an open space for people to enjoy.

However, as previously reported by the Times, Mr Amico appealed against the decision in March and a hearing was held in April.

He claimed that Portishead’s growing population meant there was a need for more places to sell food and drink in the town.

However, inspector Karen Radford has now dismissed Mr Amico’s appeal.

In her report, she said Pill Park was near a very built up area and raised concerns about what impact the business would have on the surrounding neighbourhood.

She said: “While Pill Park is the only green public space in the immediate area, it is a relatively small one.

“I have found that the proposed kiosk building would erode the spacious quality of this relatively small park and therefore harm its attractiveness.

“In addition its location in the central part of the park, together with its size and the surrounding decking, would all combine to curtail the usefulness of the park for informal leisure and activities such as ball games and picnicking.”