Agenda item

Report of the Director of Environment and Sustainability.

This report details the revised terms and conditions to be attached to street trading licences which the Committee is asked to approve. If approved, the revised terms and conditions will be implemented on all street trading licences from 1st April 2025.

This report also asks the Committee to delegate authority to Executive Director Supporting Communities, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, to make any future minor consequential amendments to the terms and conditions that are considered necessary.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Environment and Sustainability. 

The Head of Environment Services introduced the report and provided the following information in response to questions from Committee Members:

·   Officers were working with Trading Standards to address the sale of counterfeit goods.

·   The Street Trading Strategy aimed to give officers more flexibility to control the commodities that were on offer and there would be an increased focus on higher quality goods, such as unique and handmade items, rather than stalls selling the same things.

·   In terms of nuisance from cooking methods, electricity was being made available in more of the trading spaces so that cooking methods could be changed.

·   Furthermore, guidance was being prepared on cooking methods, focusing on things like reducing smoke when cooking, which aimed to develop best practice and guide traders on the best way to reduce odours and smoke from their cooking.

·   If cooking methods became a statutory nuisance enforcement action could be taken, and penalty points issued.

·   There had been smoke issues reported at Leather Lane Market, so vendors have been precooking food and then reheating it at their stalls where possible.

·   Following on from high profile allergy incidents, the conditions on food hygiene and food safety can specify that allergy labelling must be clear.

·   The Street Trading Strategy aimed to encourage entrepreneurship by creating a vision for each market and varying the fees and charges at certain sites to encourage and incentivise traders to go there. This was being explored in Queens Crescent and Charlton Street Markets.

The Committee were supportive of the updated Terms and Conditions and the proposals outlined in the report; however, it was noted that conditions on promotion of recycling and circular economy principals and environmentally appropriate packaging had been omitted from the updated conditions.

Officers confirmed that this had been omitted in error and the draft conditions would be amended to ensure these points were included and an update would be circulated to the Committee.

Therefore, it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the Licensing Committee:

      i)         Note the consultation responses to the revised standard licence conditions as set out in Appendix 6 of the report;

     ii)         Approve the revised standard licence conditions, to be attached to all street trading licences with effect from 1st April 2025, subject to the amendments to the circular economy conditions; and

   iii)         Delegate authority to the Executive Director Supporting Communities, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, to make any future minor consequential amendments to the terms and conditions that are considered necessary.

          ACTION BY:Head of Environmental Services
                               Director of Environment and Sustainability