By Jonathon Hill,Twm Owen

Copyright walesonline

A burger van which has amassed a large following on social media for its food videos is alleged to have paid children £100 to consume a ten-stack burger, according to a recent council meeting. The allegation was made during a licensing hearing this week where councillors granted a premises license for Monmouthshire burger van Only Foods and Sauces to show films, sell alcohol and provide entertainment. The small business operates from an industrial estate in Bulwark in Chepstow where it sells burgers and ice creams and has already been hosting events and serving alcohol for some time to the dismay of some locals. Monmouthshire County Council received 38 objections to the application mostly centred around noise from the van which has taken off thanks to a social media craze. During the licensing hearing Councillor Sue Riley, representing objectors in her Bulwark and Thornwell ward, also raised worries about how the van allegedly operates. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter She said: “I’m told there was a trading day where anybody could trade in any item to get a free burger and one resident’s son and his friends were paid £100 to eat a ten-stack of burgers.” Cllr Riley further claimed that higher value items including traffic cones were taken from homes and exchanged for burgers. The Labour councillor also expressed concern about young people being filmed eating a stack of burgers with the footage posted on social media to get views, stating: “As a social worker I do have some concerns about these things.” Committee chairman Tudor Thomas reminded those at the meeting that the application determination was not about whether children had been paid to eat big burgers or not. He said: “The key point today is are we going to grant a licence for the consumption of alcohol? Any accusations potentially relating to criminal activity would be a police issue and Gwent Police haven’t raised any particular issue before today.” Kyle Gettings, on behalf of Kelly Gettings who was the applicant, responded: “We’ve had no issues with the police, we’ve had no problems at all.” He said he wanted to get away from Cllr Riley’s accusations and focus on the music issue which he said more important. Cllr Riley added that noise from a music event had caused a resident with a heart condition to feel unwell, saying: “The pulsating beat of the bass made him feel extremely unwell for most of the weekend.” Objector Tony Phelps said the noise was “horrendous”. He told the hearing: “My main objection is the noise. Over the bank holiday we were subjected to horrendous noise. “I went round there and complained. I lost the plot a bit because it was so grinding and terrible. It just got to me. You could hear it three or four miles away in Sedbury.” Mr Phelps told the committee music had been played from 9.30am to 10pm on three days over a bank holiday weekend and could be heard three or four miles away. Mr Gettings attributed noise issues to “mistakes” made during a music event they hosted with a DJ from Ibiza. He responded: “We made the mistake of hiring big speakers because we had a world-famous DJ coming so we wanted the sound to carry. The sound did travel. “We did take a walk around 600 or 700 metres away where the houses are and we did a decibel reading of 50.4 which was deemed to be okay. “Since then we have changed to speaker set up and the way the music carries. We’ve had another four events since and to my knowledge we’ve had no other complaints. We have learned from our mistakes. We don’t want to upset the neighbours, that is the last thing we want to do. “Chepstow is now known because it’s the area we’re in. They come they enjoy the music, they eat burgers, they relax, and yes they get a drink as well, but we’re not there to be a pub. “Mr Phelps’ first objection wasn’t how loud it was but the type of music. He thought it was drum and bass, I said ‘no, it’s dance’. He said ‘turn that off’ and I said I wouldn’t turn it off.” Mr Gettings said he reduced the volume when Mr Phelps complained it was “too loud”. “This is not a nightclub or nightclub environment,” he added. “Children come and watch a movie. Last time we had Lilo & Stitch and mum and dad sit there and have a beer. This is not a nightclub this is all for families, people have got the wrong impression.” The hearing also established that planning permission for food and drink operations is not currently in place, though that wouldn’t affect the licensing committee’s determination. Mr Getting explained a retrospective application has been submitted with the pair having believed approval existed for previous usage. The council also received 90 statements supporting Mrs Gettings’ application. The committee approved the licence which will permit the van to operate from 9am to 2pm on Mondays to Thursdays and from 9am to 11pm on Friday to Sundays with alcohol permitted to be served until 10.30pm in line with a condition requested by Gwent Police. A noise limiter will also be installed to comply with a request from the council’s environmental health officer, with other conditions requested by the police being to install CCTV in licensed areas, staff training, to log incidents and people being refused service and challenge anyone who appears to be under the age of 25 for identification. The licence also permits films to be shown outdoors from 9am to 11pm, live music on Fridays to Sundays from 9am to 11pm outdoors and recorded music from 9am to 2pm on Mondays to Thursdays and from 9am to 11pm outdoors on Friday through to Sundays. The Chepstow van has grown its popularity on social media significantly in recent weeks. It recently posted a video alongside famous food vlogger Spudman, who helped them source a new van after their old one was badly damaged in a fire, which has already received more than 800,000 views online. Their social media following went from just under 2,000 to more than 250,000 in a few months with people visiting from as far as London and even Tenerife.