Pier Head Traders Wait on Council Ruling Over Their Pitches
Two Pier Head traders who have held their spots for almost two decades are waiting to hear whether Liverpool Council will let them stay. The council wants to stop issuing street trading permits at the site from April next year.
The hearing
Patsy Murphy and Harry Khanijau have traded since 2009 beside the Gerry Marsden Ferry Terminal, where they run a stall selling hot food and drinks and an ice cream van. Liverpool Council's street trading sub-committee heard arguments for ending their stay on the waterfront.
Patsy said she put her case to councillors at the hearing. She felt the committee had understood the points made for her business and for Harry's. No decision is understood to have been taken yet. Both traders face a wait of up to five days.
Why the council wants a review
The review began in March, when Angie Redhead, head of city events and halls for Culture Liverpool, asked for the current trading offer at the Pier Head to be looked at again. Under the new proposals no street trading permits would be allowed there from 1 April.
Committee documents say that since the original consents were granted in 2009, the waterfront has been transformed into a major visitor destination with much higher footfall. They name the Museum of Liverpool as a key attraction that did not exist then, along with a maritime-themed museum inside the Mersey Ferry.
A council spokesperson said that, since 2009, tourism and cruise liner visits have made the Pier Head a draw in itself, and that plenty of long-established cafes and venues now operate along the waterfront. The council is exploring new arrangements that would give more businesses a chance to trade there. It is asking the committee to let the two consents lapse in April 2027.
The Echo understands Culture Liverpool argued for managing the site in a new way that could include new traders.
What the papers say about the traders
The committee papers, seen by the Echo before the meeting, accept that the traders may have invested in their pitches expecting to stay. They also say councillors may weigh the big changes around the Pier Head and decide whether the public interest now calls for a different approach.
The same papers stress that such consents are issued for a set term and do not guarantee the holder any particular location for good.
Patsy has been moved before. In 2023 she and her niece Rebecca had to leave the spot where they ran The Deli to make way for traders in the Eurovision Village.
If the committee approves the council's request, officers will talk to both traders about alternative locations elsewhere in the city.
Source: Liverpool Echo