Christ Church authorities have this week lost their battle to have a kebab seller relocated away from college, to the delight of the JCR.
College authorities have complained that the smell of the food form he van, known as ‘posh nosh’, distracted students trying to work and sleep, as well as being unpleasant for visitors to the college.
They also claimed that it attracted drunkards to the college entrance who made too much noise and littered the area on the gateway to the college, adding that some students had been attacked at the van.
The college authorities requested that the City Council ban the owner of “posh nosh”, Saeid Keshmiri, from obtaining a license unless he agreed to move his van further down the road and distance himself from the entrance to the college.
Heamn Hassan, an employee of Saeid Keshmiri who works at Posh Nosh stated that he was “very pleased” that the kebab van had been allowed to stay, but spoke of his unhappiness at having his right to serve outside the college questioned. He said:
“I was not very happy. After it happened, many students came by every night and asked us not to move away from college. They said that we are part of the college here. I feel part of the life and college too.”
Saeid Keshmiri has also stated that he enjoys working outside Christ Church. He admitted that the drunkards that visited the van had caused problems and acknowledged that litter was generated around the van.
However, he stated that such anti-social behaviour was generated by those who hung around the bus stop, and not specifically by those who visited his van.
Christ Church students have spoken out to defend the van’s presence outside the college, stating it to be a fundamental part of their time at university.
One a third year student at Christ Church, claimed that the kebab van constitutes an important part of student life.
He said, “Posh Nosh is very much seen as a tradition amongst the college’s undergraduate population, as much of a feature of college as life as, for example, Mercury Foutain. And it’s a damn sight more useful.
Many of us are fed up of the college authorities doing things without taking our wishes into account, so I say hurrah for something happening that reflects our enjoyment.”
Past students have also defended the van’s right to stay. Ex-JCR President Garth Smith who graduated last year reminisced about the college’s role in day to day life.
He said, “when I was there, everyone used it and was grateful that it was there. I never heard any complaints at all, about the smell or otherwise. I knew students who lived in rooms that were right next to the van, but no one ever complained that the van shouldn’t be there.”
Whilst the Council authorities have not forced Keshmiri to relocate, they have nevertheless suggested that he moves his van elsewhere in future to avoid further controversy within the city. He has moved 200 yards further down the road in a compromise agreement.
An Oxford University spokesman said, “the van is outside the college seven nights a week and the smell lingers on long after it has left for the night.
“A number of staff have raised concerns over whether it is suitable for students to work best in such conditions.
“We encourage students to eat healthily but the issue with Sid’s Kitchen has nothing to do with that. The college is concerned with students having the best possible environment for study.”
