To have kebab, or not to have kebab, that is the question in Devizes at the mo’: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to make do with the fish n chips of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, by walking to Folly Road opposingly, and end them! Where do I stand on the Town Council’s rejection of an insensitive and opportunistic application for a whopper of a kebab van in the Market Place, you might ask; much as I love a kebab, I stand with them….
Backstory as fast as possible first for those not in the know. The Kebab House on Northgate Street in Devizes, a well respected institution in our town renowned for the finest takeaways unfortunately burned down last month, leaving owner and family man Mustafa Suna devastated, without a business, and his staff to have lost their jobs. Though locals rallied behind fundraising for the victims of the incident, they were shocked to hear of an outside application to Wiltshire Council for a ten-foot kebab van to rock up in the Market Place, flogging burgers, kebabs and everything the Kebab House once did, twenty-four seven.
The public reaction to a Gazette & Herald report on the application, 1st of December, shared on The Devizes Issue Facebook group, was rightfully that it was an insensitive move given the circumstances, an opportunist muscling in and profiteering on a tragic circumstance. All fine and dandy when commenting on Facebook, but given the occasion you’ve had a few bevvies and feel like soaking them up with a kebab, would townsfolk be so willing to adhere to the notion a kebab van in the town centre is unfair on the owners and staff of The Kebab House and consequently boycott it? I think the temptation would be too much for many!
The original report by the local newspaper appeared to show no consideration for Suna’s loss, blazening the news as a good thing. This only worsened the negative reaction, that this was unfair on the part of Mustafa Suna and his staff.
Councillor Iain Wallis stepped in, and stated, “as the Wiltshire Councillor for the area I have already made very clear to public protection that I object to this application. I would be unlikely to object to an application from the Kebab House and would support them if a workable plan was put forward and supported by the town council. I see this application as taking advantage of the situation and I do not support it.”
Though the jury is still out for Wiltshire Council to make their minds up if to allow the application for the kebab van, the responsibility for managing the Market Place falls upon Devizes Town Council, who have rejected the proposal. Iain told the Gazette, “we discussed the licence from someone unknown for a kebab van in the Market Place, this was turned down. I think everyone agreed that this wasn’t the right thing to do but everyone also agreed that if The Kebab House came forward then we would look as a council at what solutions we could offer.” Well done to Devizes Town Council, particularly Iain, if you are to read this, though I doubt you will.
Obviously we get sticky seconds on this and other scoops, and a little plagiarism of the articles is necessary to form an opinion piece needed to express the concerns of the public, as the newspaper isn’t in a suitable place to do so with equal gusto. It was unnecessary and tactless too, on Newsquest’s part, I feel, to have covered this sensitive issue at all while it was only an application. But if the article raised concern with the public and councillors took heed of that outcry, then perhaps the seemingly clickbait intentions of the paper came up trumps in the end. The question needed to be answered is if the council would have still rejected the application without the online public outcry?
Lots of people have understandingly expressed, and particularly anyone living nearby, that the Market Place is an unsuitable location for such a street food vendor, though under the circumstances they would support an application for one from Mr Suna, as they know it will only be temporary and assist in him rebuilding his respectable business. But being the Town Council have made moves to increase police powers in the area to prevent a trend in anti-social behaviour there, the presence of any such vendor could be counterproductive to this, therefore would not have supported it anyway, and there was no real need for the Gazette to have stirred up the public by being so presumptuous with the story. They could have waited for the outcome of the application.
I should explain for those who don’t know, that Devizine has been ousted and deliberately falsely accused of all manner of misdoings, including personal bullying and harassment of Councillor Iain Wallis, by Mr Wallis himself. The reactionary culling of members of his Facebook group who dare disagree with him has been called into question here, for it is frustrating for those involved to have been, what they consider, unfairly dismissed from the popular local group. Other actions Mr Wallis has engaged in as a town councillor have been criticised in the past too, but all with good reason and no personal malice was ever made or intended. There has never been, as he has claimed, any matter published which is a personal attack or bullying of any kind, that’s him, playing the victim card in order to discredit us; why, I don’t know, and any reason I could provide would be speculation.
In this instant, whether the councillor is only homing in on public opinion or this is his personal belief, either way this was a sterling move on his part and we thank and congratulate him for it. Though I fear he will reject my felicitations, as it’s seemingly his intention to slander us, and that is surely unhinged and unfair. If we all worked together and shared an understanding that not everyone is going to agree with us all the time, we could make things better for everyone. And who knows, by the time the Kebab House is reopened we could be sharing a donor!!
Okay, that might be expecting a bit too much, but you get the idea! We look forward to a time when Mr Suna’s business is back on its feet, and we believe DTC’s decision was the right move towards this, but we also believe public information, such as the reopening of Station Road, should be made available to all, not just on the Devizes Issues group given many people have been banned from it quite unfairly.
Devizes Town Council made no announcement of this road reopening on their Facebook page, rather it was only published on the Devizes Issues group, conveying this information was a “little secret” between only those who adhere to Mr Wallis’ conservative opinions, and that is unfair on those he has banned from the group without a valid reason. And that’s where we stand, great news, but a little more cooperation and fairness with the press is needed to convey it; we are not and have never been against any council or councillor.
devizine.com 