Preston’s hot potato tram’s face-lift has been given the go-ahead.
Tony Nelson, father of the SpudBros, made a passionate speech to councillors as they heard about the jacket potato duos rapid rise and their passion for the city.
The SpudBros, who now have more than 7million followers on their social media presences, have shot to fame with their TikTok antics based on the Flag Market.
Read more: Opinion: Forward-thinking Spud Bros deal by Preston North End deserves credit
Proposals for two temporary structures, which will be adjoined and able to be dismantled and moved, were heard by Preston City Council’s planning committee.
Mr Nelson, known affectionally on social media as ‘The Spudfather’, spoke to Blog Preston after the decision.
He said: “We’re going to have to dig deep [after the PNE sponsorship deal] and find some money to go and get this container built.
“I think there were some valid questions in there about the historic setting and we get that.
“It’s about celebrating what Preston’s famous for. We want to create something that is going to bring people into the city when we’re not open as well.”
Asked about when the city will see the new look tram, he said: “We’ve got the designs in with the manufacturer and we think it’ll take three to four months to get it where we need to be.”
See our full interview with Tony Nelson below or on YouTube
Architect and planning consultant John Bridge was grilled by councillors about the Flag Market setting alongside Mr Nelson.
Both he and Mr Nelson gave assurances about the ability for the tram to be moved as and when needed – likening it to pop-up structures which are used at music festivals by food caterers. With planning officers confirming there were conditions in the SpudBros lease which meant they had to comply for large-scale events such as Remembrance on the Flag Market.
Mr Bridge also faced down a grilling by former Mayor councillor Phil Crowe who demanded to know why they hadn’t considered an empty shop unit instead in the city or the Box Market under the Fish Market canopy – querying that “I heard you’ve opened a shop in Soho”.
Mr Bridge explained the potato tram had traded on the Flag Market since the 1950s and the location was part of its heritage but also its appeal to social media users who had flocked from far and wide to sample the spuds.
Councillors also pressed on the queueing times and toilet facilities, with Cllr Freddie Bailey claiming he was a ‘SpudBros OG’ visiting them ‘before they got big’ but he couldn’t face the queues now for a cheese and beans fix.
Mr Nelson and Mr Bridge both addressed the queues saying the new tram would speed up service times, due to expanded kitchen facilities, and they would also be operating a ‘Disney barrier system’ which would snake the queue similar to an ‘airport style’ rather than the one long queue across the Flag Market – with councillor Peter Kelly referencing the incident where a motorbike was ridden across the Flag Market last summer knocking down a boy who was in the queue.
Cllr Lynne Brooks also questioned whether it would still be a ‘tram’ compared to the current and previous trams, with Mr Nelson assuring her the frontage would be similar to the current one and offering to ‘paint some wheels on’ if that would please her the next time she visited for her spud fix.
Councillors voted unanimously in favour of approving the new Spud tram which will have planning permission for five years.
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