The Licensing Act Committee met to elect a chair and vice-chair, to review the Street Trading policy, and to discuss pavement licensing. Councillor Robin Moorcroft was elected Chairman of the Licensing Act Committee for 2025/26, and Councillor Damon Dennis was elected Vice-Chairman. The committee voted to allow the Street Trading Sub-Committee to also handle Pavement Licences, and authorised a public consultation on updates to the Street Trading Statement of Practices, Procedures and Policy.

Street Trading Policy Review

The committee considered a report regarding proposed updates to the Street Trading Statement of Practices, Procedures and Policy. The Principal Licensing Practitioner (Policy), Julie Flower, outlined the proposed changes, which included clarifications regarding pedlars¹, updates due to new legislation for Pavement Licences under the Business and Planning Act 2020, clarification to the wording for some Policy Exemptions, a single use plastics update, clarification regarding disposal of business waste, a reference to the council’s Healthier Weight Strategy, a new requirement for DBS basic disclosure, clarification on when applications are referred to the Street Trading Sub-Committee, clarification regarding the imposition of additional conditions, clarification regarding payment of application fees, and new conditions regarding evidence of commercial waste collection, street cleaning, notification of change of name/address/contact details, and notification of convictions.

During the debate, the following points were noted:

• A suggestion to amend the policy exemption regarding trading near schools and colleges to specify a 400 metre radius from the premises boundary .
• A suggestion to include an additional point under Street Trading Consent Conditions: Failure to comply with this condition may result in the Consent being reviewed and/or not renewed.

The committee voted to authorise the Principal Licensing Practitioner (Policy) to proceed with the public consultation on the updated policy, including the noted amendments.

Pavement Licensing

The committee considered a report regarding Pavement Licensing. The report sought authorisation to amend the Street Trading Sub-Committee to enable it to deal with the function of Pavement licences as well as Street Trading, and to rename the Sub-Committee as 'Street Trading and Pavement Licensing Sub-Committee'.

The provisions relating to Pavement licensing under the Business and Planning Act 2020 were made permanent on 31 March 2024. A Pavement licence allows a licence holder to place removable furniture on certain areas of the highway adjacent to their premises for the consumption of food and/or drink. The grant of a Pavement licence only permits the placing of furniture on the highway, and authorisation under other regulatory frameworks, such as the Licensing Act 2003, is still required for the sale of alcohol.

The committee voted to amend the title of the Street Trading Sub-Committee to enable it to deal with the function of Pavement licences as well as Street Trading, and to rename the Sub-Committee 'Street Trading and Pavement Licensing Sub-Committee'.