Why Bristol council has banned cheese toasties from park

A local council is attempting to combat antisocial behaviour by biker gangs by banning the sale of cheese toasties.

Councillors in Bristol say they had been contacted by members of the public who were worried that a proposed hot food van in Monk’s Park, in the north of the city, would attract troublemakers back to the area.

Biking news website RideApart says that “young people riding motorcycles had been causing disturbances, getting drunk, and harassing innocent visitors to the park like in a bad biker gang movie”.

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This week, the city council’s public safety and protection committee heard dozens of objections from residents, a ward councillor and the headteacher of a nearby secondary school, who warned that the proposed food and drinks outlet could become “a magnet” for more antisocial behaviour, adds local news site Bristol Live.

Claire Hiscott, councillor for Bristol’s Horfield area, said the van’s proximity to the school was also a key factor in the decision, amid concerns that it could “lure” pupils into skiving off.

“It’s right next to Orchard School, which is a challenging school that sometimes has a problem with keeping kids in school,” she said.

“They have to have patrols of staff to make sure kids don’t walk off site. The lure of a food concession may encourage kids to take a little walk. The school has made a lot of effort to encourage healthy eating. We have problems with childhood obesity.”

The vendors of the food van “argued that it would be serving hot food, not low-quality fast food”, and “cheese toasties (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) were cited as an example of the type of food it would sell, not the usual burgers and fries”, says RideApart.

Nevertheless, they have been banned from selling hot food, with the council granting a provisional licence to serve cold snacks only, along with tea and coffee, between the hours of 9am and 6pm.