Issue - meetings

It was moved by the Chairman of the Executive, duly seconded and

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive held on 2 December 2014 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted, subject to the clarification in Recommendation 56 of the date as 1 January 2015.

The Council’s existing Street Trading Policy was introduced in 2009.  It should be reviewed if major changes occur or after 5 years, whichever is sooner.  There have been no major legislative changes affecting this Policy since it came into effect and requests for only minor changes have been received.

The draft revised and amended Policy was considered by the Licensing & Regulatory Committee at its meeting on 18 September 2014 and is attached to this report for approval.  A public consultation process has taken place which concluded on Friday 12 September 2014.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Street Trading Policy be recommended to the Council for adoption prior to implementation.

The Executive agreed to RECOMMEND to the COUNCIL thatthe revised Street Trading Policy be adopted.

[This item is recommended to the Council for decision and is not subject to the Call-in Procedure]

[Reason: To seek approval for the revised Street Trading Policy following a public consultation process.]

101.1  Street Trading is defined as the selling or exposing or offering for sale of any article (or living thing) in a street.  Such activity may cause nuisance and may be controlled by local authorities.  In 1991, Waverley Borough Council adopted powers under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, to control Street Trading by the designation of ‘prohibited’, ‘licensed’ and ‘consent’ streets.

101.2  In September 2009 the Council published the current “Street Trading In Waverley Policy” which covers general guidelines, applications, decision-making, appeals, fees and conditions.  It should be reviewed if there are major changes to the street trading regime or after 5 years, whichever is sooner.

101.3  A ‘Prohibited’ street means a street in which street trading is prohibited. A ‘Licensed’ street means a street in which street trading is prohibited unless a licence has been granted by the Council.  A ‘Consent’ street means a street in which street trading is prohibited unless the Council has given consent.  A licensed street designation is appropriate for the more formalised, market type of trading in a street where the strict control of a limited amount of space is required.  Currently there are no licensed street designations in Waverley; only Prohibited Streets and Consent Streets.

101.4  Designation of a street as a consent street covers a more infrequent type of trading.  The Council is under no duty to grant consent to trade on a street which has been designated as a consent street.  Neither is the Council required to specify grounds for refusal.  Similarly, there is no right of appeal against the refusal of consent or the application of conditions attached to a consent.  However, current good practice is for Street Trading Policies to include a hearing mechanism and for reasons to be given for any refusal.

101.5  The ‘Consent’ designation of a street is appropriate where it is necessary to limit the numbers and types of traders, their location along a street, their hours of operation and the measures they employ to remove their waste.  These can all be specified as conditions to the Consent in a location.

101.6  A number of community-led locally organised events benefit from the existing regime – there are no proposals to alter this.  For example, since 2009, Consents have been granted for events in Castle Street, Farnham, in High Street and Church Street, Godalming, in High Street and West Street, Haslemere and on The Common, Cranleigh.  Individuals may also apply for Consents, either for specific occasions or on an annual basis.  There is currently one consent granted in Waverley to a sole-trader.

101.7  The main changes proposed in the draft policy document attached as Annexe 2 are:

-       To introduce a procedure for varying Consents during their life

-       To clarify the Council’s approach to ensuring transparency in dealing with applications

101.8  Public Consultation took place for a six-week period ending on 12 September 2014.  Consultees specifically included agencies and partners already involved in the Street Trading regime (for example, Police, Fire and Rescue,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101