A Wiltshire kebab van man is pleading to be allowed to stay open after he made a crucial mistake.
Bulut Turak continuously breached the conditions of his licence, including opening early, trading into the early hours, and leaving his car park pitch to trade in the town's historic Market Place.
Wiltshire Council's licensing sub committee will hear on Wednesday, February 4 that the trader first applied for a street trading licence in January 2025.
After Devizes Town Council objected, citing safety and public order concerns, Wiltshire Council granted Mr Turak, trading as Royal Kebabs, a three-month trial to establish whether Devizes Town Council's concerns were valid.
The town council said the car park was poorly lit, the proposed pitch was close to an area blighted by anti-social behaviour, and that the kebab van would block electric vehicle charging points - inconveniencing motorists.
Mr Turak - who was given permission to trade daily between the hours of 6pm and 11pm - said he would contact the council when he intended to start trading.
In July 2025, Devizes Town Council made a complaint that a trader was operating in Central Car Park under the name Marmaris Kebabs.
After investigation, it was established that the trader was Mr Turak.
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Wiltshire Council agreed to begin Mr Turak's three-month trial from October 2025.
In September the council was sent photographic evidence that Mr Turak was serving customers at twenty to one in the morning - well past the 11pm end time allowed under the conditions of the licence.
When the council challenged Mr Turak, he told officers he "didn’t realise it was such a crime.” He told officers the customer was drunk and he wanted to avoid confrontation.
He was not able to explain why the customer was able to be served more than an hour and a half after Mr Turak was supposed to have shut up shop.
When in October 2025 Mr Turak was found to be serving customers before 6pm, he was offered an extension of his three-month trial. Later that month he was photographed trading from Devizes Market Place.
After his licence expired in January 2026, Mr Turak was witnessed by Wiltshire Council officers trading on two consecutive nights.
The trader was told he would not be granted a further licence. He appealed two days later.
Should the meeting decide not to grant a licence, Mr Turak will have to take his appeal to judicial review.
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