Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Alex Malyon and Cllr Clare Delderfield.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Licensing Committee authorised the Chair to sign, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held Monday 29 November 2021.

A street trading policy was brought forwards to be considered by the Licensing Committee. The Council, in relation to its responsibility for street trading, would need to designate that all streets in the district would come under its remit with the exception of the A11 and A14, and any area of land which was in direct ownership and control of County, District or Parish Councils.

It was noted that the policy was intended to provide flexibility and that the policy would continue to be monitored to highlight any anomalies. If any anomalies were highlighted, the policy would be brought back to the Committee to make alterations.

The Committee were informed that 25-30 potential sites for street trading had already been identified. A press release regarding the new policy was due to be released on Wednesday 23 February 2022. Cllr Mark Howell suggested that the information was also sent directly to all Parish Councils.

The policy was to cover static, mobile or layby traders, such as food vans, ice cream vans, flower sellers or vans selling bread, cakes, vegetables etc., and encompass areas such as:

·       Public Safety

·       Proximity to the highway

·       Compliance

·       Food Safety

·       Public Order

·       The avoidance of Public Nuisance

It was noted that previously, street trading did not apply to the whole of the district, which resulted in some street traders operating in areas with the consent of the local Parish or Town Councils. To protect those were already conducting street trade, the Council was to introduce grandfather rights, so they would continue have the right to retain their pitch or pitches, subject to basic safety principles being adhered to, within a grace period of up to six months.

In addition, a new streamlined regime was to be introduced for owners of outside areas such as pub car parks. This would allow such areas to be used on an ad-hoc basis for such things as, pop-up food traders and non-food articles like Christmas trees.

The Committee was informed that the terms of delegation for the Committee would be altered to include the street trading policy. In the case of a breach of policy and an appeal to the Council, a panel of 3 persons would consider the case and any decision would be binding, as there would be no appeal to a Magistrate’s Court. Any breach of food health guidelines would be dealt with by enforcement in Environmental Health.

Members of the Committee queried if Ward Member(s) would be notified of incoming street traders. It was agreed that an email would be sent to any Ward Member(s) to notify them of this.

Licensing Committee approved by affirmation the street trading policy to take affect from 01 March 2022.