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Notification of decision following a Licensing Panel hearing to
determine an application for a temporary street trading licence
pursuant to the London Local Authorities Act 1990, as
amended
 

SITE:           
To be positioned along Chiswick High Road, The Old Market Place
area alongside Chiswick high Road, Adjacent to 123-211 Chiswick
High Road, Chiswick, W4
 
TO:
            
Kathleen Mitra, Chiswick Flower Market (“the
Applicant”)
  
TAKE NOTICE THAT
following a hearing before the Licensing and General
Purposes Sub-Committee (“the Licensing Panel” or
“Panel”)
 
ON 22 May 2025
the London Borough of Hounslow, as the relevant Licensing Authority  
RESOLVED as follows:
 

1)       
The Licensing Panel convened to determine an
application in respect of the grant of a Temporary Street Trading Licence made
pursuant to section 31 of the London Local Authorities Act 1990, as
amended (the “Act”).
 

2)       
The application, which is shown at Appendix A of the
Agenda pack, sought a Temporary Street Trading Licence for up to 65
market stalls along Chiswick High Road between Linden Gardens to
past Brackley Road up to the Metro Bank in Chiswick as per the plan
shown at page 20 of the agenda pack, for the purposes of a Flower
Market. The market was proposed to run between 8.30am to 5.00pm
every first Sunday of the month from 6 July 2025 to 7 December 2025
inclusive.
 

3)       
The hearing was in person. The Panel consisted of
three members. All members of the Licensing Panel were in
attendance throughout the hearing, and during deliberation, which
took place separately in a closed session. 
 

4)       
The Applicant had been operating the Flower Market
in Chiswick for nearly five years through a series of Temporary
Street Trading Licences, and the application sought to continue the
existing temporary licence held by the Applicant, a copy of which
is attached to the Application.
 

5)       
During the consultation process the Licensing
Authority received 66 representations in support of the application
from members of the public. Seven of those representations
contained specific reference to the flower market. These are shown
at Appendix C. In addition, representations were received from a
representative of The Mid Chiswick Society and Friends of Chiswick
Common Residents’ Association. 
This is  shown in Appendix B and
expressed concerns including noise, increased traffic and pressure
on parking on the local roads as well as concerns regarding the
length of trading time in comparison to the other markets, and
requirements to improve the communications systems between licence
holders and the local
residents.
 

6)       
There were representations received from Councillors
Jack Emsley, Ron Mushiso and Gerald McGregor in support of the
Application. The representations are attached in Appendix D.
Councillors Mushiso and Emsley attended the hearing to give
evidence.  Representations were also
received from Councillor Joanna Biddolph who also
attended.  Councillor Biddolph was not
objecting to the Application and she put
forward some representations, which can be found attached at
Appendix E. The comments and representations related to the
prevention of blocking certain parts of the highway, the need for a
formal parking plan, an end time for market traders, ensuring car
park closure times fitted the needs of the wider community, the
impact on business from the trading of food at this market and
ensuring clearance of the Hogarth statue.  
 

7)       
In making its decision the Licensing Panel carefully
considered all the relevant information including:
 
-    Written and oral
representations submitted by all the parties
-
   Oral representations made by the
parties during the licensing panel hearing
-    The London Local
Authorities Act 1990 as amended (“the
Act”)
-    Hounslow
Council’s Street Trading Policy (“the
Policy”)
-    The Human Rights Act
1998
 

8)       
Kathleen Mitra, Steven Nutt, Ollie Saunders and
Jeremy Day were present for the Applicant (and are together
referred to as the Applicant). A representative from Friends of
Chiswick Common Residents’ Association was also in attendance
and made it clear she was not objecting to the presence of the
Flower Market but made some representations as referred to above in
paragraph 5.
 

9)       
The Panel was informed that the market operated on
the first Sunday of the month and the objective was to make a
difference to the Borough and invest back into the community. In
addition, the Panel were informed that the market was approaching
its fifth birthday and had a good record of safe markets, that
there were volunteers that helped with various aspects; some with
accounts, some with social media and much more. The Panel was taken
through the procedure for the setting up and dismantling of the
market and market stalls, which involved traders arriving from
around 6.00am though most arrived at 7am to start setting up their
stalls to begin trading at 9.am. Trading ceased at 4pm and it
normally took one hour to close, sometimes a little more. They
expected to be packed away by 5pm but this could sometimes take a
little longer.
 

10)   
The Applicants advised that there were 65 pitches
The stalls themselves are marked out in 3m spaces, though this was
not shown in the plan. There were usually 35 traders as most used
two pitches. Food was also sold, mainly as flower shaped cakes in
keeping with the theme of the market.
 

11)   
The Applicants said there was usually a team
standing at the gate to manage vehicles accessing the car park to
prevent blockage and there was always a market manager on site.
They had all undertaken first aid training. The market did not
impose on the Hogarth statue, and there was low level
music.
 
 

12)   
The representative from the Friends of Chiswick
Common Residents’ Association and Mid Chiswick Society asked
if the Applicants would be prepared to revise the licensing time so
they aligned with the other markets and traded for fewer hours. The
Applicants’ response was that they asked to finish at 4pm and
be given enough time to pack away. The representative from Friends
of Chiswick Common Association and Mid Chiswick Society asked if
there was more the Applicants could do to suggest where people
parked. The Applicant responded that there was a visitor’s
section on their website, and they were willing to revise the
wording to make things clearer. They encouraged people to walk to
the market and/or take public transport. The Applicant said they
were willing to clarify the position on the website which is
Chiswickflowermarket.com.
 

13)   
 Councillor Mushiso spoke
of the benefits to the area in having the market, of his
volunteering role in the market and his continued support over the
years and he welcomed the idea of more dialogue between the
residents and the licence holders to further improve communication.
Councillor Emsley spoke of the benefits of the market and expressed
support for it and mentioned the market’s compliance with the
key principles in paragraph 2.11 of the Councils Street Trading
Policy. 
 

14)   
Councillor Biddolph asked what was done about vans
and parking as there was a need for alternative parking to be
found. The Applicants said they would welcome a discussion and were
keen to hear from the local community so that traffic management
and parking could be addressed in a professional
manner.  Councillor Biddolph asked what
the Applicants had done to promote business for those on the
outskirts of the market. The Applicant said they had spoken to
other traders, and they had not received any complaints. Councillor
Biddolph referred to an area where there was tactile paving and
asked how any clashes would be addressed to prevent obstruction.
The Applicants said their 3-metre gazebo did not cause any
obstruction or interference with that. Councillor Biddolph asked
who closed the car park. The Applicant said the management team
closed the car park. Councillor Biddolph said the local
community’s needs were to be considered regarding the time
when closing the car park as there may be a need for others to
access the car park later than 11pm.
 
 
DECISION:
 

15)   
The Act provides the Council with a measure of
discretion when deciding whether to issue a Temporary Street
Trading Licence and the Policy provides for all applications to
consider various issues as set out therein, which include
consideration of public safety, prevention of crime and disorder,
prevention of public nuisance, the appearance and suitability of
the stall/vehicle and environmental credentials.  The Policy also requires applications to consider
the needs of the area, this being the demand for the articles for
sale and the geographical location of the proposed site.
 

16)   
Having considered all the written and oral
representations by all parties, the Panel was of the view that the
Applicant appeared to be operating the market in a satisfactory
manner, including ensuring that they were able to properly manage
the market, which specialised in flowers and therefore had limited
overlap with any nearby shops.  The
Panel was also satisfied with the Applicant’s organisation
and marshalling of the market, including their emergency
procedures.
 

17)   
The Panel therefore decided to GRANT the
application for a Temporary Street Trading Licence for a maximum of
65 stalls, in the location shown in the plan to the Application
shown at page 15, namely the area between Linden Gardens and
Brackley Road up to the Metro Bank in Chiswick.  The market is to operate between 9.00am to 4.00pm
on the first Sunday of the month from 6 July 2025 to 7 December
2025, inclusive.
 

 

Conditions Attached by the licensing
Sub-Committee:
 

18)   
There shall be no stalls placed within the area of
the Hogarth statue and the railings associated with the statue
should not be used to display any merchandise.
 
                                                                                      

19)   
The standard Conditions allow a maximum width of any
licensed area which shall not exceed one third of the useable width
of the footpath. Furthermore, a minimum unobstructed footpath width
of 1.8 metres must be left clear and available and free from
obstruction to allow for safe and convenient pedestrian
movement.
 

20)   
The applicant must monitor to ensure that stalls are
more than 1 metre distance from the benches.
 
 

21)   
There must be a minimum of 1 metre distance between
each stall.
 
 

22)   
Traders must at no time obstruct those businesses on
Chiswick High Road who hold a pavement or Temporary Street Trading
Licence.
 

23)   
The licence holder must always ensure any queues, or
the serving of customers does not impact the adjacent pavement or
any pedestrian crossing points in order
to prevent obstruction and to maintain public safety. Queues
should also not impact upon neighbouring premises and
businesses.
 

24)   
The ingress and egress routes must at no point be
obstructed by the market for emergency services or
utilities.
 

25)   
The licence holder must ensure the market operates
in a safe and orderly manner and shall not do anything which may
cause a danger, nuisance or annoyance, damage or inconvenience to
the Council, any adjacent neighbouring premises or to any member of
the public.
 

26)   
The licence holder must ensure that all appropriate
road closures are applied for and approved prior to the date of the
market being held.
 

27)   
All risk assessment and operational documents must
be completed, approved, and reviewed regularly in conjunction with
the London Borough of Hounslow events team to allow the market to
take place.
 

28)   
The Licence holder must ensure clearance of the
market by 5.30pm.
 

Additional Conditions agreed by the licence
holder:
 
 

29)   
Stalls will be positioned such that sight line
obstruction does not occur.
 

30)   
Traffic Road signs will be kept clear of any
obstructions.
 
 

31)   
After market set-up, the market manager will
undertake a risk assessment site inspection ensuring sightlines and
set up comply with guidance. This will be continually monitored
throughout the day.
 

32)   
Marshalls will be informed of the necessity to keep
clear sightlines at junctions.
 
 

33)   
Any breaches will be reported to the site manager
and immediately dealt with
 

34)   
Stall holders nearest the road junctions will be
informed of their responsibility.
 
 

35)   
If deemed necessary, a barrier will be put up at
each junction on the pavement to warn pedestrians of the access
road.
 

London Borough of Hounslow Street trading
Policy

 

36)   
The Panel understands that the Council no longer
issues ID passes to market or stall holders and therefore condition
48 of the standard Temporary Street Trading Licence conditions in
the Policy is deleted.
 

37)   
With the Policy geared towards individuals stalls
rather than to a market, the Panel has also decided to amend
conditions 64, 65 and 68 of the standard temporary street
conditions in the Policy so that they now read as
follows:
 

64. The Licence Holder must be the principal
operator and have day to day control of the market. The Licence
Holder may employ any other person to assist in operating the
market and shall notify the Head of Business Regulation/Licensing
Manager of the name and address of that person.

 

65. Anyone who operates a stall/vehicle must be
approved by the Licence Holder and must operate within the Licence
Holder’s terms of business or be authorised by the Head of
Business Regulation/Licensing Manager.

 

68. The Licence Holder must be the principal
operator of the market and must be physically present at that
market the majority of the time.
Occasional help is permissible with prior approval of the Licensing
Manager or head of Business Regulation.
 

38)   
There is no right of appeal by any party in relation
to the determination in respect of a temporary street trading
application.  The decision of the Panel
is therefore final.