Pleasure boat operators in St Ives, Cornwall are up in arms about new penalties imposed for pitching their services to tourists on the seafront. Local tourist businesses have been slapped with £100 fines as they attempt to attract customers, and say they've been threatened with escalated fines of £1,000 and a potential criminal record.

Tensions rise as pleasure cruise companies argue against a fresh licensing policy aimed at seafront ticket vendors, accusing it of hampering their efforts to sell outings to holiday-goers. St Ives Town Council defends its stance, citing Royal National Lifeboat Institution concerns about sales activities blocking access to a lifeboat gate. However, the St Ives Pleasure Boat Association has labelled these moves as "crushing."

Their frustration spilled onto social media where they posted: "In January we were hit with the news that the town council would remove touting from the gate on lifeboat corner, a tradition that has been running for decades and has been the backbone of many businesses over the years."

They expressed their concern, sharing further: "With this crushing news there were lots of worried business owners wondering how we were going to operate this year." Continuing their online revelation, they stated: "The council came back with a map with ten dots on it and said that these were the locations that they would allow booths to tout from and businesses that have any links between them, say the directors are the same must share a booth, regardless if these businesses are completely separate LTD companies."

Members of a local association were left incensed by the council's decision against their long-standing practice of issuing individual business licenses, as one spokesperson lamented, "Our members were obviously not happy with this, given the council had dished out individual business licenses for the past five years, so we made a counter proposal."

Describing how they grappled with change, they shared, "Accepting losing the gate to tout from was a big blow, but we took the councils map and added five or so more dots on it for additional booths in reasonable locations to tout from." However, their efforts were met with rigid opposition: "This was immediately shut town by our town council and we were basically told it's their way or the highway."

Expressing their disbelief, they questioned, "These boats and businesses have been trading here for years and years and now the council want to shut us all down?" The spokesperson highlighted continued attempts at negotiation that fell on deaf ears: "We emailed back and forth for the next couple of months trying to offer the council solutions but they were sticking to their guns and not even giving us an inch."

As a much-anticipated holiday period approached, the mood turned sour: "As the eagerly awaited Easter holidays approached the once happy and excited mood was grim and we still had no answers." Standing firm against the authorities, they recounted, "With this our association emailed the town council informing them that we intended to start work and we would have to tout on the gate or wherever we previously traded for the past five years until they had found a solution."

But upon taking action, they faced severe pushback: "Now with a stunning forecast of calm seas and sunshine we turned up to work and were met with threats, personal messages from the mayor and members of the town council also." Concluding with the punitive response they received, they stated, "We had enforcement officers stood in front of our ticket sellers issuing fixed penalty notices of £100 a day with threats to escalate to £1000 and a criminal record."

Business owners in St Ives are up in arms after the council's refusal to grant temporary licenses left them and their staff out of work during peak season. One exasperated owner recounted: "With our businesses and start to the season in tatters we walked to the guildhall with all our staff and calmly tried to explain that all these young people are out of work in this beautiful weather because of the council."

They continued, detailing their fruitless efforts: "We made a desperate plea for some temporary licenses so we could work the Easter holidays and keep operating whilst the council found a resolution." The response from the authorities was uncompromising: "We were met with a blatant no and told that if we were caught trading we would be fined and they would take our touting desks away." The financial impact has been severe: "This is now carrying into a second week of the Easter holidays and we have lost thousands already." Under the new regulations, companies must consolidate their operations to one booth per business, which the council argues is fairer.

St Ives town council explained to Cornwall Live: "It's a system that's been in place for three years, we're extending it. We've just asked them not to trade on the gate, but to trade from a booth and have a licence. We sent them a map to choose a spot. There's a maximum of ten individuals or families but between them they've got 18 boats, so their position is they should have a booth for every boat. We weren't happy with that as they don't need a booth for every boat."

Councillor Andrew Mitchell shared his initial reservations about the scheme: ''Let me start by saying that when it was first muted to bring in some control, I was against it. "I remember from the age of about 10 walking down Lifeboat Hill with my Dad, probably on a Saturday on the way to the arcade and seeing all the touts at the end of West Pier (there was no gate in those days)."

It was originally in response to the complaints the Town Council was receiving about all the A-Frames on Wharf Road and touts being in the middle of the road and 'overly enthusiastically' approaching members of the public. "I need to point out for clarification that it was not the Town Council who wanted the touts moved from the gate, but an insistence from the Lifeboat for Health & Safety and access reasons so I understand."

No one at the Town Council wants any boat operators to go out of business. The pleasure boats and touts are part of the St. Ives offer and experience and I wish everyone of them a busy season. "There are accusations of preferential treatment of some operators. If true, that is completely wrong and I would like to know more! I am not on the committee at the Town Council who deals with this, but know they are all working hard to come up with a fair, workable solution."

A local boat trip owner voiced his concerns: "Right now, over 11 independent local boat operators in St Ives are under immense pressure due to the actions and inaction of St Ives Town Council and Cornwall Council." These are small, family-run businesses that collectively put over £1 million back into the local economy every year. "We create jobs, support local families, and help sustain the town's character yet we're being treated like an afterthought, or worse, a nuisance."

The council is now trying to force multiple independent businesses to operate from a single boat stand, which would mean one or more of those companies will inevitably suffer or collapse altogether. "We've been blackmailed and threatened with the loss of our licenses, and as of Easter the start of our critical working season there is still no fair allocation of operating positions."

This is after we've spent thousands over the winter on vital boat repairs, upgrades, insurance, harbour fees, and now even more costs being suddenly imposed on us. "Now, we're being told we may not be allowed to operate at all, or that our licenses are at risk. To say we are stressed is an understatement."

This is a direct threat to local livelihoods, to young families, and to the sustainability of our town's economy. "One local resident expressed their disappointment: "St Ives Town Council Cornwall should be ashamed of themselves. "Another lamented: "The touts by the gate, always polite and sometimes funny. Such a shame bureaucracy may destroy businesses and jobs."

However, one local resident voiced their concerns, stating: ''I'm sorry but being on that corner is not good and stops traffic way too much as someone who has to drive through the town multiple times a day in the summer to see my mother because I'm a local your people get in the way of everything and I don't understand why you need so many places to work from?

The town isn't that big and your boats are not good for the sea either our children complain about the water at the harbour because of the fuel from the boats hurting their eyes so less would be better for the town. '' There are two boatmen's associations in St Ives - the St Ives Pleasure Boat Association and the St Ives Boatmen's Association. Both have reportedly agreed to the proposed changes, according to the council.