The hospitality and tourism sector in Conwy has suffered a “tsunami of job losses” during the pandemic and the council should extend on-street trading in the town, a businessman has told a licensing committee.

Conwy county council’s general licensing committee heard a representation pleading for street trading prohibitions to be lifted on areas of land at Rosehill Street, Vicarage Gardens and Lower Gate Street.

The motion, to allow the spots to be considered as “consent streets” for trading, was brought before the committee by Tony Graham Segui of Cariads

Welsh Food.

Addressing members, Mr Segui said the idea fell in with guidance from the Federation of Small Businesses Wales and it was the “moral responsibility” of councils to open up public spaces.

He said there were both “solid business” and “public health and safety” cases for allowing outside areas where the public could use services.

Mr Segui said it gave patrons a choice rather than being forced to enter “cosy by design” premises in the historic town’s old buildings, which couldn’t offer social distancing.

He said: “Conwy’s vital hospitality and tourism sector has taken a very severe blow.

“We’ve had a tsunami of job losses and business closures and numbers on universal credit are at an all-time high.

“Traditional jobs will take a long time to return, according to Welsh Government.

“This leads us all to conclude that we need to adapt – and avoid the disastrous consequences of lockdown.”

Mr Segui said giving businesses the opportunity to trade in the three outside areas would allow customers the choice to shop indoors or outdoors.

He added: “Many premises do not lend themselves to social distancing in Conwy with its old buildings.

“They are cosy by design and you can’t swing a cat in some of them, let alone keep everyone two metres apart.

“Everyone has the right to get on with life, go for a walk and get a coffee.”

Mr Segui said he was merely asking for traders to have the chance to apply for permission sell on the streets and remove the prohibitions on trading.

Cllr Ken Stevens (Pant yr Afon/Penmaenan ward) said he wanted to know what kind of events were being proposed and hoped they weren’t street cafes.

He added: “I would be concerned about Lower Gate Street. I went there this year and I could hardly move there as it was.”

Councillors unanimously approved sending the idea out to public consultation for 28 days, with any objections to the idea being assessed by the committee at a later date.