Agenda item

REPORT OF THE LICENSING MANAGER

To comment upon the proposed Street Trading Policy for the Council, particularly in relation to any matters specific to Hitchin.

Councillor Judi Billing declared a Declarable Interest as she was a Director of Hitchin Initiative. This was not a pecuniary interest and therefor she would remain in the room for the debate and any vote.

RESOLVED: 

(1)        That the report entitled Consultation in Relation to the Proposed Street Trading Policy 2018-2025 be noted;

(2)        That the Licensing Manager be requested to produce a report that addresses the reasons that responsibility for A boards and outside shop trading, such a cafes could not be transferred from Hertfordshire County Council to North Herts District Council and then delegated to the Town Centre Managers.

REASON FOR DECISION: To provide local input into the proposed Street Trading Policy 2018-2025.

Councillor Judi Billing declared a Declarable Interest as she was a Director of Hitchin Initiative. This was not a pecuniary interest and therefor she would remain in the room for the debate and any vote.

The Licensing Officer presented a report in respect of the proposed Street Trading Policy 2018-2025.  He advised that consultation had commenced on a revised Policy, part of which was to seek the views of Area Committees.

By way of background, the Licensing Officer explained that the Council had adopted the appropriate Street Trading legislation in 2005.  In Street Trading terms, a “street” was a road, footway or other areas to which the public had free access (eg. car parks, shopping arcades).  Street Trading was the selling of goods that could be purchased and taken away at the time of purchase.

The Licensing Officer further explained that Charter Markets were exempt from Street Trading, as were shops that displayed some of their wares outside their frontages.  Typically, Street Trading covered burger vans, ice cream vans, ad hoc markets and community events.  In this latter regard, he stated that the revised Policy sought to continue to those parts of the existing Policy which provided encouragement for community events.

The Licensing Officer advised that the Council was able to designate streets as consent streets, where its consent was required to be able to trade within such streets;  prohibited streets, where trading would not be permitted at any time; or not to designate at all.  In 2005, the Council had chosen to designate as consent streets all streets within the District’s four main towns and the arterial roads which linked them.  Village roads/streets had been excluded from such designation.

The Licensing Officer commented that the Policy did not contain any prohibited streets, but appended to it was a list of streets where consent would not normally be granted.

In respect of Advertising Boards (A Boards) and tables and chairs outside restaurants/cafes, the Licensing Officer confirmed that those matters did not fall within the remit of street trading, but were instead the responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council under the Highways Act 1980.

The Licensing Officer stated that the main objective of the Policy was to protect the public from unregulated street traders.  The Policy also aimed to make things easier for community events to go ahead without having to go through the same process as commercial operators.  Accordingly, it was possible for an annual Town Centre consent to be issued to an appropriate Town Centre organisation (such as a BID company or Community Events Forum), so that all community or commercial operators wishing to trade within the town could approach the Town Centre organisation for permission to use their annual consent.  A cost could be levied on a commercial operator for use of the consent, with no charge for not-for-profit community organisations.

Members commented that a number of issues not covered by this policy caused problems in Hitchin Town Centre including trading outside of shops such as cafes, which created problems when they spread onto the footways and the proliferation of A boards placed on the footways and in the roads, which had been a constant issue.

The Licensing Officer advised that A boards and tables and chairs on footways and roads came under the purview of Hertfordshire County Council.

Members commented that the County Council did not take any enfacement action regarding these issues and queried why NHDC could not take on the responsibility of these issues from Hertfordshire District Council and then be delegated to the Town Centre Managers.

Members asked for a report on this issue that specifically addressed the reasons that this could not be achieved.

Councillor Lovewell, whose Portfolio included this issue advised that NHDC had tried many time to persuade Hertfordshire County Council to transfer responsibility for A board to NHDC together with the funds to undertake that responsibility but this had been resisted by the County Council

            RESOLVED: 

(1)        That the report entitled Consultation in Relation to the Proposed Street Trading Policy 2018-2025 be noted;

(2)        That the Licensing Manager be requested to produce a report that addresses the reasons that responsibility for A boards and outside shop trading, such a cafes could not be transferred from Hertfordshire County Council to North Herts District Council and then delegated to the Town Centre Managers.

REASON FOR DECISION: To provide local input into the proposed Street Trading Policy 2018-2025.