Authorises Officer An officer employed by the Isle of Wight Council and authorised by the Council to act in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
3. Procedure for determining Street Trading Consent applications
The application and
approval procedure comprises of the stages as set out at Appendix 1. The descriptions on the side of the boxes
refer to the explanatory notes in the subsequent sections of this guide.
4. Submission of the
application
An application for a Street
Trading Consent must be made to the Isle of Wight Council in writing.
The following will be
required to be submitted with the application
(a)
A completed and signed Street Trading Consent application form and a
Notice of Application for a Street Trading Consent.
(b)
A deposit of 25% of the full fee.
Fees for periods of less than 15 days will require submission of the
full fee with the application.
(c)
Where the proposed street activity is from a fixed position, 5 copies of
a map of at least 1:1250 scale. The map
should clearly identify the proposed site position by marking the site boundary
with a red line.
(d)
Three colour photographs of the stall, van, barrow, cart etc that will
be used for the street trading activity.
(e)
An original copy of the certificate of insurance that covers the street
trading activity for third party and public liability risks.
An applicant for the
initial grant of a Street Trading Consent should give a minimum of 60 days
notice of the application.
5. Consultations on applications made
Before a Street Trading
Consent is granted or renewed the Council will carry out a consultation process
with various persons and groups. In
particular the following organisations or persons are consulted.
·
Highways
·
Food Section
·
Hampshire Constabulary
·
Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service
·
Local Councillor
·
The appropriate Parish or Town Council
·
Local Business Association
·
Wight Leisure
For new applications, in
addition to the above, further consultations will be carried out with property
owners within 100 metres of the proposed site.
This consultation will be by the Council sending copies of the Notice of
Application to the relevant property owners.
Written observations from
the above organisations and occupiers of properties will be sought and taken
into consideration when determining an application.
Consultees will be given 14
days in which to make comments.
6. Site Assessment
Street Trading Consents
from static locations will not normally be granted where:
a.
A significant effect on road safety would arise either from the siting
of the trading activity itself, or from customers visiting or leaving the site,
or
b.
Where there are concerns over the recorded level of personal injury
accidents in the locality where the street trading activity will be sited, or
c.
There would be a significant loss of amenity caused by traffic, noise,
odour or fumes, or
d.
There is already adequate like provision in the immediate vicinity of
the site to be used for street trading purposes, or
e.
There is a conflict with Traffic Orders such as waiting restrictions, or
f.
The site or pitch obstructs either pedestrian or vehicular access, or
traffic flows, or places pedestrians in danger when in use for street trading
purposes, or
g.
The trading unit obstructs the safe passage of users of the footway or
carriageway, or
h.
The pitch interferes with sight lines for any road users such as at road
junctions, or pedestrian crossing facilities, or
i.
The site does not allow the Consent Holder, staff and customers to park
in a safe manner, or
j.
The street trading activity is carried out after dusk and the site is
not adequately lit to allow safe access and egress from the site for both
customers and staff.
7. Inspection of the Street Trading Unit
The vehicle, van, trailer,
stall or other device to be used for the proposed street trading activity will
be inspected by an Authorised Officer of the Council, prior to the issue of any
Street Trading Consent, where this is reasonably practicable. The unit to be used for the street trading
activity shall comply in all respects with the legal requirements relating to
the type of street trading activity proposed.
In particular the unit to be used shall comply with the following
legislation:
·
Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991.
·
Food Safety Act 1990.
·
Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 (as amended).
·
The Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995.
·
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and any Regulations made under
this Act.
·
Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Further advice on any of
the above requirements can be obtained by telephoning: 01983 823162.
8. Objections to the Application
If objections are received
against the granting of a Street Trading Consent from:
k.
Occupiers of property within 100 metres of the proposed site, or
l.
Isle of Wight Council Ward members, or
m.
Parish or Town Councils, or
n.
Police and/or Fire Authorities
the application will
normally be referred to the Council’s Licensing Committee for determination.
Before such a referral is
made officers will assess the objections according to the following criteria:
1.
Potential, or actual, nuisance to a property occupier from noise, fumes
or smells.
2.
Concern for public order problems resulting from the proposed street
trading activity.
3.
Any other valid reason raised that would affect the occupier of a
property as a result of the application made.
Where appropriate, the
application will be referred to the next available meeting of the Licensing Committee
for consideration and determination of the application. The applicant will be informed in writing
and notified of the date when the application will be considered.
Persons making written
objections will also be informed of a decision to refer an application to the
Licensing Committee and notified of the date of the hearing.
The appropriate Isle of
Wight Council Ward Members for the proposed street trading site will be
informed of a referral of an application to the Licensing Committee.
9. Determination
of the Application
The Licensing Committee and
delegated officers will use the criteria listed below in determining any Street
Trading Consents. All criteria should
normally be satisfied, and equal weight will be applied to the criteria
listed. Each case will be assessed on
its merits and individual circumstances, where appropriate, may be taken into
consideration.
a) Public
Safety: The location of the proposed street trading
activity should not present a substantial risk to the public in terms of road
safety, obstruction and fire hazard.
The term “public” refers to both customers requesting the street trading
activity, and other members of the public using the street. In particular reference will be made to the
guidelines set out in section 5 on site assessment criteria.
b) Public
Order: The
street trading activity should not present a risk to good public order in the
locality in which it is situated.
Observations from the Hampshire Constabulary will be taken into consideration.
c) Avoidance
of Nuisance: The street trading activity should not
present a substantial risk of nuisance from noise, smells or fumes to
households and businesses in the vicinity of the proposed street trading site. Observations from Council Officers shall be
taken into consideration.
d) Needs
of the Area: The sufficiency of other trading outlets
will be taken into consideration in relation to:
1.
The presence of like outlets already existing in the immediate locality
of the proposed street trading site.
2.
The general needs of a locality, should no comparable outlets exist
Applicants will have to
demonstrate to the Council the need for the proposed street trading activity in
relation to either points 1 or 2 above, whichever applies.
e) Compliance
with legal requirements: The proposed street
trading activity should be carried out from a trading unit that complies with
the relevant legislation. Observations
from Council Officers on the compliance with the requirements of Food Safety
and Hygiene, Health and Safety and Environmental Protections legislation shall
be taken into consideration.
f)
Consultees Observations: In relation to points a) –
d) above, consideration will also be given to written observations from
consultees. Any objections made to the
proposed street trading activity will be considered in terms of relevancy and
appropriateness to the application that has been made.
g)
Permitted Trading Hours: The Council generally will only permit street trading between
6.00 am and Midnight on any one day.
Any trading outside these hours will have to be approved by the
Council. Street Trading outside the
guideline hours will be assessed in terms of the criteria detailed above.
The Council however retains
the right to specify permitted hours of trading that are less than those
specified above if local circumstances dictate
h)
Officer decisions on
applications made: If an Officer of the Licensing
Section acting on a delegated basis is unable to grant a Street Trading Consent
the applicant will be offered a meeting with the Licensing Officer to discuss
the reasons for a potential refusal of the application. At the meeting the applicant will be
informed of the criteria from these Guidelines that have not been met. The applicant will be given an opportunity
to discuss any relevant matters in relation to the application that has been
made. If after the meeting officers are
still unable to proceed with the granting of a Consent, and the applicant
wishes to continue with the application, the application will be referred to
the Licensing Committee for determination.
The outcome of the meeting
with the applicant will be confirmed in writing within 5 working days of the
meeting taking place. If an applicant
refuses an offer of attending a meeting with officers, or fails to attend, a
letter will be sent to the applicant confirming the reasons for being unable to
proceed with the application.
10. Approval of Applications
The Council’s Licensing Committee,
or delegated officers (where appropriate) may approve applications meeting the
criteria contained within these guidelines.
On approving the
application the Council will issue a Street Trading Consent to which conditions
will be attached. The Consent will also
contain specific terms such as days and hours when street trading is permitted,
the goods that may be sold. A copy of
the Council’s standard conditions, which are attached to Street Trading
consents, are shown at Appendix 3.
Additional conditions may be attached if special circumstances apply to
the Consent being granted by the Council.
The conditions attached to
the Consent form part of the approval to carry out street trading in the Isle
of Wight. They MUST be complied with at
all times and failure to do so could lead to the Consent being either revoked,
or not renewed.
Consent Holders are
therefore requested to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions
attached to the Street Trading Consent and comply with the requirements.
11. Issue of Street Trading Consents
A Street Trading Consent
for any particular site will be issued for a maximum period of 3 months for the
first year and thereafter for 6 months providing there have been no
problems. Shorter term Consents may be
issued on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
These particular Consents will expire, unless renewed, on the date
specified in the Consent.
In all cases when a Consent
has expired, and an application has not been submitted to the Council for
renewal, a new application will have to be made. In such cases the application will be required to go through the
full consideration process outlined in these guidelines.
If a cheque is dishonoured
by a bank this will result in the revocation of the Street Trading Consent
issued by the Council unless payment of the outstanding fees is made in cash
within 5 working days. In such cases an
administration charge will also be imposed on the Consent Holder.
Street Trading Consents
will be issued only at the Council Offices.
The applicant must attend in person to collect any documentation.
12.
Consideration of applications by the Licensing Committee
The Council’s Licensing Committee
has been established to consider applications and hear objections and appeals
in relation to licensing matters. The Committee
consists of elected members of the Isle of Wight Council who have received
specific training in licensing issues.
The Committee is supported by a Committee Administrator and a solicitor
and meets on a regular basis. Licensing
Committee meetings are usually held in public unless there are matters to be
considered that are of a confidential nature.
The role of the Licensing Committee
is to:
1.
Determine applications to which objections, as defined in section **
above, have been made, or
2.
Determine un-opposed referred applications that do not meet the criteria
contained within this Policy, or
3.
Hear appeals from applicants against the imposition of a condition on a
Consent by an officer on a delegated basis.
On receipt of a written
objection, or an unresolved application that does not meet the criteria in
these Guidelines, or an appeal against an officer’s decision, arrangements will
be made to have the appeal or application heard at the next available meeting
of the Licensing Committee.
Once arrangements have been
made for the application to be heard by the Licensing Committee persons making
the objection, appeal or reference to the Committee will be advised in writing
of the date, time and place where the application will be heard.
The person making an
application or an appeal to the Licensing Committee are expected to attend the
hearing. The applicant can be
represented by a solicitor, or supported by a friend or colleague. The Licensing Committee will follow a set
procedure that will be notified to the applicant in advance of the meeting, along
with any officer reports that will be presented at the meeting.
The decision of the
Licensing Committee will be confirmed in writing to the applicant within 5
working days of the meeting at which the application was considered.
The Licensing Committee
will always adhere to the rules of natural justice when it is considering an
application to ensure that all persons get a fair hearing.
13. Refusal of Applications
Where the Council refuses
an application the applicant will be informed in writing. The decision of the Licensing Committee is
final.
The Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 does not allow any legal appeals against
the decision of the Council in relation to the refusal of Street Trading
Consents. A person aggrieved against a
decision of the Licensing Committee may seek a Judicial Review of the decision
of the Licensing Committee, should it be felt necessary.
14. General Information on Street Trading
Consents
i)
Reimbursement of Fees: Fees will be reimbursed to Consent Holders where they cease to
trade and surrender their Consent to the Council. Any reimbursement will be strictly from the date the Consent is
surrendered to the Isle of Wight Council.
Refund of any fee paid in
connection with the granting of a Street Trading Consent will be based on the
following formula:
Number of complete days
remaining divided by the fee paid less
the current administration fee.
ii)
Persons under the age of 17
years: The Council will not grant a Street Trading
Consent to persons under the age of 17 years.
iii)
Access by Council and
Police Officers: Consent Holders should allow
access to Authorised Officers of the Council and Police Officers at all
reasonable times. Council Officers will
carry with them and produce on request official identity cards issued by the
Isle of Wight Council.
iv)
Street Trading Consents: The conditions attached to all Street Trading Consents stipulate
that a Consent Holder shall not assign, sub-let or part with his interest or
possession of a Street Trading Consent.
The Consent granted is specific to the person to whom it is
issued and is non-transferable.
15. Enforcement of Street Trading
The Isle of Wight Council
will actively enforce the provisions of the Street Trading legislation within
its area in a fair and consistent manner.
All enforcement activities will comply with the Departmental Enforcement
Policy, copies of which are available free of charge from the Licensing Office.
16. Complaints against the Service
The Licensing Section has an agreed procedure for dealing with
complaints. Any complaints should in
the first instance be sent to the Principal Environmental Health Practitioner, Jubilee
Stores, The Quay, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 2EH, telephone 01983 823152.
If the matter cannot be
resolved advice will be given on how to further your complaint under the
Council’s Complaints Scheme.
PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING STREET
TRADING CONSENT APPLICAITONS
The
application and approval procedure comprises of the following stages. The descriptions on the side of the boxes
refer to the explanatory notes in the subsequent sections of the guide:
NO YES
NO
Yes
Approved Refused
Appeal
