A storm is brewing in a popular seaside town as Cornwall business owners are facing crippling £1k fines and criminal records. The row has exploded in St Ives where new rules introduced by the council means pleasure boat operators have already "lost £50,000" this year alone meaning many businesses are at risk of “going into liquidation” and staff left with no jobs.

Ticket sellers for pleasure boat trips in St Ives have traditionally touted their services to tourists for a hundred years at a gate next to its lifeboat station. However, the council has decided to ban this decades old tradition which has been a backbone of many businesses over the years. The council is using a public space protection to ban touts from bringing in business by the gates and they’ve reduced the number of booths from 16 to 10.

Traders feel they have been kept in the dark with many feeling the council is trying to ruin the fabric of St Ives.

In what should be their prime season pleasure boat operators say they are “simply trying to survive”.

“Gutted” Matt Spencer Smith who runs several pleasure boat trips out of the harbour says the new licensing policy means “people could even lose their homes”.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, Matt said: “The council started coming down and fining people £100, they said if they catch us a certain amount of times it would go up to £1k and then to a criminal record.”

Over Easter we tried to survive as best we could but online sales aren't enough to keep businesses afloat.

“Touting has always been a massive part of our industry and now the council have just taken it away."

He added: "Businesses aren't going to survive, people who have got loans could lose their jobs and some people could even lose their homes.

“Around 30 staff could be left with no jobs.”

St Ives Town Council has previously defended its actions, saying the move was instigated following calls from businesses in the town and, particularly, the RNLI, which was concerned about pleasure boat operators touting for business in front of the gate leading to the town’s lifeboat, raising health and safety fears.

Business owners are now praying for a good bank holiday otherwise they could “go under”.

“We need a good May bank holiday otherwise we could go under”, said Matt.

He added: “I’m gutted, the community is gutted. It affects the whole town.

“So far £50,000 in earnings have been lost and we have sadly lost our loyal staff who we have for years.”

Despite being in constant contact with the council businesses are no further forward and with their summer season hanging in the balance traders have no other option but to turn to “protests, petitions and legal action”.

St Ives Boat Association said in a statement: “We are now three weeks into the season and pretty much no further forward.

“The heavy handed council are still issuing fines and on one occasion, sent the police down. No new licences have been granted.

“We are all at a loss as to their motives. St Ives harbour front has hundreds of locals and tourists and sometimes it’s into the thousands per day.

"Our only way forward now is protests, petitions and legal action.

“Why does 6 extra people selling tickets standing at an allocated location seem such an issue for the council, what is the motive behind it all as it doesn’t stack up in the eyes of many?

“The impact caused to local businesses, local staff and local families is detrimental and damaging but the benefit to the council is what?

“The losses incurred by the affected businesses now run in the 10s of thousands of pounds. Some businesses may never even recover from this.”

In response St Ives Town Council insist "boat trips are alive and well in St Ives".

The statement read: "Understandably, many people are asking questions in relation to recent social media coverage about pleasure boat operators along the St Ives seafront. The implication of the posts is that businesses are being prevented from trading or are facing an uncertain future. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Since 2021, local pleasure boat businesses have been licenced to tout for business in the harbour area. Some businesses have booths, others have ticket touts who stand at the corner of the lifeboat gate. Changes this year have been brought in by the Town Council in response to concerns from the RNLI, complaints from the public and other businesses along the Wharf about some of the behaviour and number of ticket sellers at the gate. The RNLI asked that touts did not trade from the gate and the highway manager was concerned about so many people standing on the road.

"In response, licences this year ask all businesses to trade from booths, which are spaced along the Wharf. Some businesses are unhappy about the change. They generally object to two aspects, being asked to move from the gate, and also where owners have more than one vessel, to having a single booth for their boats. Businesses want space to trade, but there is also a need to ensure that other road and harbour users can enjoy the space.

"Licences are issued under a legal order called a public spaces protection order (PSPOs) and it has been in place for over three years. The PSPO is set up by Cornwall Council and enables local authorities to help manage very busy public spaces. The same powers are used for dog fouling, advertising boards, fly postings etc. The St Ives order also covers touting for boat trips, hair braiders and henna tattooists. The order doesn’t prevent any of these things happening, it just requires an application and permission to be granted, by way of a licence.

"Some of the businesses (not all) objected to this change. Others were happy to trade from the booths as they always had. The proposals were set out in early January and have been subject to lots of discussion and debate.

"Despite what has been portrayed, the Town Council has issued licences to trade to all but one business. All of them are now trading for the season but the RNLI gate is now clear. The Town Council believe that it is fair and reasonable for people touting and trading on the highway to be licenced with terms and conditions. We believe that it’s what both local people and visitors would expect. We do understand that change is difficult and not everyone is happy with the new rules. But boat trips are alive and well in St Ives and will continue as they always have."