This meeting of the Licensing Panel was scheduled to include a report about the applications for a street trading licence and the adoption of guidance on how councillors should declare conflicts of interest.

Application for a Street Trading Licence

Mr Ashok Kumar applied to Hounslow Council for a temporary street trading licence for a trailer to be called Balaji's Food Magic.

The trailer was proposed to be sited in the car park of New Way International Ltd, Britannia House, Pier Road, Feltham between 9am and 7pm, Monday to Friday. The applicant sought permission to operate from the site for a period of six months.

One objection to the application was received, on the grounds that:

if people are standing/waiting at that truck they are going to be at risk of being hit by cars/trucks.

— , Balaji's Food Magic - Appendix C

Mr Kumar responded to the objector, and copied the Licensing Team into his response, saying:

"To address this, we could consider a few options:

Alternative Location: We could explore placing the food truck in a different area that minimizes the impact on the parking space and pedestrian flow. I AM GOING TO USE THIS SPACE JUST FOR 3-4 MONTHS!! With the permissionofNEWWAY INTERNATIONAL .IN-BETWEEN this time period I am about to learn how this all will work.

Time Adjustments: If the timing of the food truck's presence is flexible, scheduling it during off-peak hours might help reduce potential disruptions. My only agenda is to make people's taste buds dance with my food ,and not to hurt them in any way.. I Really respect your understanding.

Signage and Traffic Management: Implementing clear signage and a system to manage the queue could also help ensure safety and smooth flow."

— Ashok Kumar, Balaji's Food Magic - Appendix D

The meeting was to decide whether to grant the application in part or in full, to refuse the application, or to grant the application subject to extra conditions being applied.

The meeting was also scheduled to consider the Hounslow Street Trading Policy as part of its deliberations.

Declaring Interests

The Monitoring Officer¹ included guidance on how Councillors should declare conflicts of interest under the Localism Act 2011.

The guidance explains to Councillors that if they have a close personal or financial connection to someone who has made an application to the council, they are obliged to declare this as a conflict of interest. If the conflict is significant enough, they may have to leave the room while the application is discussed and voted on.