ICE CREAM vans and other mobile street traders could soon be charged £65 more a year for a licence as the council looks to cover the cost of carrying out checks after receiving more than 100 complaints last year.

Worcester City Council has announced a number of changes to its fees and charges for next year and, if approved by councillors, mobile street traders would be expected to fork out £250 per vehicle every year.

The city council said it needs to raise the fee to recuperate the cost of carrying out more and more checks.

A city council spokesman said: “In the last year we have received more than 100 complaints related to mobile traders, most of them to do with alleged breach of licensing conditions.

“These include requirements to move to a different trading spot after a certain period of time, the distance that needs to be kept between different traders and whether alcohol can be served.

“The investigation of these complaints and the enforcement action that can follow is time-consuming, and the proposed increase in fees reflects this.”

The change – traders are currently charged £185 a year – would mean the owner of an ice cream van would have to pay 35 per cent more a year per vehicle if they were renewing a licence or attempting to obtain a new one.

The council’s plan is part of a number of changes to what it charges including funerals, football pitch hire, various licences, garden waste collection and admission fees to popular attractions such as the Commandery.

For the fees and charges changes to be put in place, the city council’s income generation subcommittee must first agree to the alterations at a meeting next Tuesday (January 15).

The proposal is then passed to the council’s policy and resources committee which also needs to agree to any changes and a final decision would then be made at a full meeting of the city council on February 19.