Review of Stroud District Council's Street Trading Policy

This consultation has now closed.

Date of consultation: Monday, April 3, 2023 - Friday, May 19, 2023

Consultation summary

A consultation on proposed amendments to Stroud District Council’s Street Trading Policy.

Street trading is the selling of any article in a street. A street includes a road, footway, or other area to which the public have access without payment.

Any person who wishes to trade on any street or land that the public have free access to, including private land, must apply for street trading consent from Stroud District Council. The Council excludes any land in the ownership and control of a public authority or a registered charity from needing street trading consent.

Why we are consulting

To introduce a street trading hearing process for decision making

1.        The main proposed change to the policy is a new process for decision making. In the current policy all decision making is delegated to Officers.  The proposal is to introduce a new hearing process whereby contentious applications, reviews/revocation of a consent and appeals against Officer decisions, are referred to a hearing panel made up of 3 Councillors. A hearing will be held at which the applicant or consent holder, and any persons objecting, will have opportunity to put their case to the hearing panel before a decision is made.  The objective is to ensure that decision making is clear, transparent, and fair. The proposed policy includes a hearing procedure which reflects the hearing processes already used by Stroud District Council for Licensing Act and Taxi licences. Some decisions, including non contended applications, cases where objections are from the Police or Highways on safety or obstruction issues and all short term consent applications will continue to be delegated to Officers.

Other proposed changes

2.        Expanding the policy objectives to include prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance, preventing unnecessary obstruction, and ensuring traders are suitable persons.

3.        Market consent holders to provide a management plan

4.        Clarification on the definition of an approved assistant to being a person that works on the unit without the consent holder present for more than 28 days a year. Approved assistants must have a basic DBS criminal check every three years in line with the requirements for consent holders.

5.       Change to level of public liability insurance that consent holders must provide. The current policy is a minimum of £10 million. The proposal is to reduce this  to £5 million cover which will bring Stroud District Council’s policy in line with other authorities. Market consent holders to continue to provide public liability insurance of a minimum £10 million cover.

6.        Change to action taken in cases where consent holders fail to make consent fee payments. Currently consents are revoked but the proposal is that consents will be suspended until outstanding payments are made and can be referred to a hearing panel for revocation.

7.     Addition of new conditions on expected behaviour of street traders and market street traders. The new conditions states that the consent holder, or persons operating stalls in a market, shall at all times, when carrying on street trading activities, behave in a professional, honest, polite and courteous manner. They shall not behave or carry on street trading activities in such a way as to cause annoyance or upset to the customer, other consent holders, the occupier or person in charge of any shop or business in the vicinity, any resident in the vicinity , or any other person using the street.

8.     New separate section with conditions for market consents. These are currently not specified in the policy. The proposed market conditions reflect the  standard conditions for individual consents.