Agenda item

This report provides a draft Street Trading and Markets Policy for consideration of the Licensing Committee with a proposal it is published for public consultation.

The pandemic has brought forward new demands for street trading activities both in terms of public demand and business opportunities, especially for local people. It is believed that introduction of a new policy will better support the needs of the local area.

The Licensing Manager presented her report, noting that this was an opportunity to create a springboard for some positive contributions to the local area. She explained the history of street trading legislation, that Arun last adopted street trading controls in April 1987, the accelerated change over the last 18 months within the District and the need to respond to it, the Council receiving an increasing amount of enquiries from those wishing to street trade and in areas that the Council did not currently control, and local businesses looking to diversify and explore new opportunities. She further explained that the policy intended to use street trading as a means to enhance the local area and increase vibrancy and footfall, and also as an effective mechanism for dealing with anti-social behaviour. She concluded by outlining the process to follow in adopting the new policy and stressed that the policy was drafted so that the Licensing Authority could actively identify and promote opportunities for street trading. She confirmed that post-consultation the draft policy would return to Committee.

The Chair commended the Licensing Manager and her team on this piece of work, commenting that it would actively benefit the area and was excellently timed as there were a number of businesses in the District wanting to operate differently coming out of the pandemic. The Vice-Chair also thanked the Licensing Manager and her team and noted that the draft policy highlighted what the Council needed to do to control and improve what potentially could be the future of the District’s streets post-pandemic. Members then took part in a full debate on the item where a number of points were raised including whether streets not designated ‘prohibited’ could be added to this list at a later date, the lack of prohibited streets in Rustington, whether a summary of key points could be provided as it was a lengthy document, whether there was a design or style guide and the role of Officers in the approval process.

The Licensing Manager provided Members with answers to all points raised during the debate. She confirmed that streets could be added to the prohibited list at a later date, that stall specifications (how they were to be set out etc.) were listed in the appendices and that there would always be an element of subjectivity to ensure consistency in the decision-making due to the wide range of street trading offerings that could come forward. She also confirmed that, if approved, the draft policy would be made available on the Council’s website from Monday 13 September 2021 for a 6 week period, that people would be invited to make comments and give feedback, and that the webpage would include a summary of the document so people could understand in brief what it was about though the document by its nature had to be longer to ensure the necessary detail was included.

The recommendations were then proposed and seconded.

The Committee

RESOLVED

That the draft Street Trading and Markets policy be published for consultation for a period of 6 weeks.