Store owner fined for messing the street scene

AN OWNER of a Palmers Green food store has been fined and ordered to pay costs of over £2600 for illegally displaying his wares on the pavement.

Mr Huseyin Tum pleaded guilty on behalf of himself and his company, Oztum Limited, for street trading offences committed outside Oz Tum Food Centre in Green Lanes.

The court heard how Mr Tum consistently ignored an order by Enfield Council to remove the large display of fruit and vegetables on the pavement the shop or face enforcement action, even though he was warned three times.

In mitigation Mr Tum said he was at a commercial disadvantage to his competitors because of a large superstore opening up in a neighbouring borough.

Mr Tum and Oztum Ltd were fined £250 for the first offence; £250 each again for the second; and £500 each for the third, making a total of £2,000 in fines. They were also ordered to pay the council's costs of £694.55.

Councillor Terry Neville – cabinet member for environment said: “Enfield wants to the borough to have the cleanest streets in the capital and one of the ways of achieving this is by taking a tough line on enforcing laws on street trading.

“Some boroughs take a more lax attitude to street trading which means shop fronts can spill out on to the pavement causing less space for pedestrians and more litter.

“We in Enfield believe in making the borough attractive not only for current but potential homeowners and residents who are thinking about moving to the borough.”

This document was last updated on 2008-04-08 11:38:08 published by the Communications team. Document Reference:LBE_132646