Butcher’s baps could get the chop
Saturday 31st January 2009, 11:29AM GMT.
A butcher from Wolverhampton is being taken to court by council bosses for selling hot pork baps – two years after his popular sandwich-selling service received complaints about the snacks from other traders.
David Price is accused of breaking the terms of his lease by selling the hot sandwiches. Now Wolverhampton Homes say they have been forced to order court action after he ignored demands to stop trading them. Council leader Neville Patten said taxpayers could now be landed with a £25,000 bill.
This would be if the council lost the case, which he claims the cash-strapped authority cannot afford.
Mr Price said he would fight to continue selling his popular services at his shop in Ashmore Park to protect his livelihood.
“It’s hard for everybody trading at the moment and I think it’s a totally crazy situation I am in now,” he said.
“It seems mad that the leader of the council is supporting me but the council aren’t listening. Everybody is trying to make a living. I am selling sandwiches which aren’t being sold by anybody else on the precinct.
“They are also telling me I can’t sell pastry products and cottage pies, which is what you will find the majority of other butchers selling all over the country.
“I have no other alternative to defend myself because I am protecting my livelihood and that of my staff.”
The court case has been scheduled for April.
But Councillor Patten said today that the situation “ludicrous”.
“The fact is that nearly all butchers across the country sell these sorts of things and so are we going to stop all of them?”
Helen Bellingham, head of homes sales and leases for Wolverhampton Homes, said: “This is against the user clause in his lease and fellow traders have complained.”
Residents put forward a 2,000-name petition and dozens of letters in support of Mr Price when council chiefs first told him to stop selling the baps in 2006.
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Given that we have let multinational supermarket chains trample our high streets and local traders down to the bare minimum over the last 20 years isn’t it wrong that the council now make such a fuss about a butcher selling pork baps?
Let the man make a living! The pork baps are obviously good if you can get 2000 people to sign a petition to keep them.
I might head off to Ashmore park to get one!
Supermarkets kill our high streets, yet when traders try to adapt to survive, the heavy handed Council slap down threats of £25k.
Thanks Wolves Council. Why can’t you just empty the bins?
We need smaller councils, less regulation and less interference if we’re going to survive this recession.
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This story is totally wrong. It is not the council prosecuting this man, it is Wolverhampton Homes – a separate organisation. Get your facts right E&S.
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The council obviously has too much time on its hands.
So,what if people complained? Get a life. If members of the public care so much, let them spend their own money pursuing this nasty pettiness. Really, some people need to get out more.
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The pork baps will obviously be better than any you could buy in any supermarket.
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This is obscene. It’s one man trying to make a living by selling a couple of sandwiches. It’s pork and gravy bewteen 2 slices of bread, seriously is this all the council had to worry about? Well, I say the “council” but we all know who is repsonsible for this.
look a few shops to the right.
(rats in the kitchen?)
I signed that petiton two years ago and will gladly sign it again.
Good on ya dave
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hope he wins the case the baps are “BOSTIN”… GOOD LUCK MATE…your providing a good service other traders are just narked because he thought of it first
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Leave the bloke alone!!
Why shouldnt he be allowed to sell them?
Years ago you had to go to a greengrocer for fruit and veg, a newsagent for fags and newspapers and an off licence for beer and spirits – nowadays you can get the lot in one corner shop, so whats the difference?
And, as stated by Mr Price, no one else on the precinct is selling hot pork baps anyway.
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In the current climate shouldn’t we be encouraging local business to evolve and succeed?
I say if no one else is selling that product in the precinct then Mr Price is not treading on anyone else’s toes! As for Wolverhampton Homes – they should look at changing the clause to include the selling of pork baps (surely this would be cheaper than the time, effort and money in putting a court case together?)
I feel sorry for Mr Price having to defend such an innocent act as selling pork baps! Good Luck to him and his staff and anyone other local butchers for that matter.
I too will be joining the queue for a pork bap in the near future!
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I work at Wolverhampton Homes and I think that they have more internal problems to sort out instead of highly paid managers and directors wasting time and resources worrying about a few pork baps. Leave the man alone to provide for his family
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This is the most stupid situation…with any luck some Judge will have enough common sense to toss it out of court.
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Michael like council worker said its wolverhampton homes that are taking action – just like they are the same emembers of staff that frequent that shop!!!! lol!
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As a Muslim, I don’t eat pork. But please leave the poor guy alone! What’s wrong with him selling sandwiches? I can’t see what harm he’s doing! So why lumber us taxpayers with a £25,000 bill?!!
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this is stupid i think its down to the area that has sweets shops and takeings are down at other shops for snaks yet he doing so well that they dont like it in wednesfield two buches offer the same thing as well one has a stall out side selling hot pork sandwiches witch is fiar enouth but i think that if some one has cornerd the market take it
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I first met David and the local council officers at the begining of David selling his pork sanwiches where a meeting was arranged in the local council offices on the estate, it was during this meeting that Helen Bellingham (council official) reached for the Collins English dictionary for the definition of a butcher, the dictionary gives a strict definition but does not give a clear view, the meat federation of which David is a member and the Food Standards Agency give a clear view of what a butcher can sell, it is also disappointing that the council which is their to represent local people do not respect our views after all TWO THOUSAND people can not be wrong if i want a salad bap I can go to the deli, if I want a Cake I can go to Dones the bakers, if I want chips I can go to the chip shop so therefore if I want a pork sandwich I should be allowed to go to my local butchers or does our council have alterior motives i.e. send us all to Wednesfield and is this the reason for shutting the local council offices and they gladly let the butchers in Wednesfield sell pork sandwiches from their shops rented from Wolverhampton Homes. Mr.A.D.Cassell LLB Hons.
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NEVER MIND REACHING FOR A BLOODY DICTIONARY – THE DEFINITION OF A BUTCHER IS SOMEONE WHO SELLS MEAT PRODUCTS
I GUESS MY COUNCIL TAX WILL RISE TO PAY FOR THE WASTERS AT WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES DRAGGING THIS MAN THROUGH COURT OVER A FEW PORK BAPS ITS A DISGRACE
WHAT ARE THE COUNCILLORS DOING BURYING THERE HEADS IN THE SAND AS USUAL
HEY LEAVE THESE BAPS ALONE AND LETS GET CENTRAL NEWS ON THE CASE
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