Agenda item

The Committee is asked to determine whether to designate the site detailed at Appendix A to this report for the purposes of street trading and if designated to then determine whether to grant a street trading licence to the site.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained that if an individual wished to place goods for sale on the public highway, they needed to have a street trading licence. The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing stated that before an annual street trading licence could be issued the site would need to be designated for the purpose of street trading.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing informed the Committee that the application sought a trading area on the left-hand side of the door of 2.3m in length, 2.1m in width and on the right hand side of the door 2.2m in length and 2.1m wide. The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained that the total distance from the store front to the nearest obstruction was 5.3m, this left a clear pavement width of 3.2m for pedestrians and the minimum required pavement width for street trading purposes was 2m.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing stated that the requested times of trading was on Monday to Sunday from 9am to 9pm, the application was placed in the local newspaper and no comments had been received and there had been no comments from the police licensing officer, food safety team, planning, highways and parking services teams or food trading team.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing informed the Committee that the measurements requested had been checked by an officer and during the site visit and a temporary licence was issued to the applicant.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing stated that there were seven other designated street trading sites in the immediate vicinity of the premises and the premises fell within the Council’s saturation policy for street trading.

In response to questions from Members the Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained that officers would not call specific Licensing Committee meetings to consider one application and if there were others then they also would have been considered at this meeting. The Markets and Street Trading Compliance Officer explained that the applicant was unsure on the dimensions of his display so there had been quite a few changes to the proposed display in the lead up to the application being submitted. 

In response to questions from Members the Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained that officers had not received any complaints from members of the public or any other parties. The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing stated that there were seven other sites designated for street trading in the immediate vicinity of the premises, the saturation policy was in place primarily on safety grounds. The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing informed Members that if the number of street trading sites had a negative impact on pedestrians, then the policy would come into effect.

In response to questions from Members the Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained that there was no specific design required for the display, if the display was unsafe then the Council could act, however, they could not act if it was simply untidy.

In response to questions the Markets and Street Trading Compliance Officer explained that the pavement sloped, however, the boxes had been well built with lockable wheels to ensure they did not roll. The Markets and Street Trading Compliance Officer stated that the display was considered safe by officers and if it was kept tidy, people would not have an issue entering and leaving the site. The Markets and Street Trading Compliance Officer explained that she had made several visits to the site and she was confident that the boxes were stable and safe.

The applicant, Mr Niazi, was given the opportunity to speak.

In response to questions from Members, Mr Niazi explained that he had two staff members working for him. The staff members would need to be trained fully to set up the display correctly, and if he hired any further staff members then he would ensure that they were also adequately trained.

In response to questions from Members, Mr Niazi stated that since he had begun using the outside display the amount of business at his shop had doubled. Mr Niazi confirmed that his shop was the only shop which only sold fruit and vegetables and not meat.

The Committee resolved to designate the site for the purposes of street trading.

The Committee resolved to grant a street trading licence to the applicant.

The Committee RESOLVED, to:

1.1Designate the site for the purposes of street trading and to delegate authority to the Corporate Director, Sustainable Communities, Regeneration and Economic Recovery to comply with all legal requirements to determine whether to grant a street trading licence to 30 High Street, Thornton Heath, CR7 8LE.