Decision:
To GRANT the application for a Street Trading Consent subject to the following additional conditions (in addition to the Council’s Standard Conditions for Street Trading Consents):
The Consent Holder shall not engage in Street Trading at any time when the March Market is operating or when a specific event is taking place in March town centre (save with the express permission of the Licensing Manager of Fenland District Council).
The Consent Holder shall not bring any motorised vehicle onto the pedestrianised footway of Broad Street and any loading or unloading of goods and/or stalls shall take place manually from a recognised loading bay.
Reasons for reaching the decision:
The Sub-Committee heard from the Applicant that they were willing to reduce the scope of their application so that their trading would not directly conflict with the existing March Market. The Sub-Committee found this helpful as this was a concern. The Sub-Committee determined to add an additional condition to the Street Trading Consent to the effect that the Consent Holder must not engage in Street Trading at such times as the March Market is operational and/or specific events are taking place in March town centre unless express permission is given by the Council’s Licensing Manager. The Sub-Committee felt that this additional condition was necessary to strike a proportionate balance between the applicant and existing traders and/or events that may take place in March, for example Christmas Markets, parades, or remembrance services.
Additional concerns raised by the Sub-Committee included how the applicant would get their stock and stall to and from the location given the paucity of parking and loading/unloading options. The Applicant advised that they will load and unload from the correct location and would invest in a trolley to move/remove goods and the stall itself, which would at no time be left on site overnight.
The Applicant also dealt with concerns regarding waste by offering that they will have appropriate measures in place to deal with the removal of waste, which the Sub-Committee noted is a standard condition in any event.
Having heard from the Applicant and considered the evidence presented to it, the Sub-Committee determined that it would be appropriate and proportionate to grant the Street Trading Consent with two additional conditions dealing with trading times and loading and unloading arrangements.