The owner of a clothing business has said that Havering Council has ordered him to stop trading from a site he had been using for months.

Juju’s The Style Closet had been setting up its pop-up store every Friday in Benhurst Avenue in Elm Park since June.

But it was told by council officers earlier this month to remove the pop-up permanently from the location.

Owner Anthony Button, 38, told the Recorder: “A representative from the council turned up and said that you can’t trade here because apparently the rule is that you have got to be seven metres from the footpath to trade without a licence.

“They said that if I continued to trade, I will be fined.”

A council spokesperson said that the business was “trading without a street license” which was brought to their attention after a resident’s complaint.  

Anthony however claimed that he had attempted to contact the council while starting his business for help with a licence application but “got no response”.

He added: “We tried to get in touch with them around June time because the website wasn’t clear on the trading rules for a pop-up on a piece of land such as the one we were on.

“We couldn’t get in touch with anyone, no one called us back.”

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He claimed the land is privately owned by a shop and he had taken the shop owner’s approval.

Anthony also claimed he had an insurance and spoke to councillors who said they didn’t seem to think he was “doing anything wrong”.

The council said it has specific designated streets where trading pitches can be set up.

These are said to be limited to avoid an “overpopulation of pitches in appropriate areas” and maintain the character of the borough.

The council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, our allocation of street pitches is currently full.

“However, the borough is home to the historic Romford Market, and we have encouraged the owner of Juju’s, and other potential traders, to contact the market manager to potentially trade there.”

Anthony though is not keen on setting up the pop-up in Romford, as he said “not everyone wants to always go to Romford Market”.

He added: “We were bringing something a little different, fresh and fun to Elm Park. We even had people coming from outside the city to the pop-up."

Juju’s was nominated in the best newcomer category at this year's Havering Small Business Awards and came second, receiving 506 votes in the final round.

Anthony started the fashion business with the help of the money his nan had left for him when she died.

When the news of the Elm Park site’s closure was shared on social media, many loyal followers were saddened.

A customer, Leonie Willcox, added: “You brightened up Elm Park, you weren't in anyone's way, or left loads of rubbish. It's ridiculous to stop people trying to make a living."

While the business is still looking for another location, Anthony has said that it is taking orders online via their website JuJusthestylecloset.com and social media pages.