Street Trading and Charity Collections

Information relating to selling goods or collecting charitable donations in the street.

Street Trading Consent

Introduction

Under Schedule 4 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, Mole Valley District Council has resolved to control street trading within its boundaries.  For further information please read MVDC-Street-Trading-Policy 2024.

Mole Valley District Council recently amended its Street Designations within the District, whereby all streets are deemed Consent Streets and available for a potential trader to submit an application for a Consent to be granted i.e. consent is required from the Council PRIOR to trading taking place.  The legislation also allows consent to be obtained for the sale of articles from any land to which the public have access without the payment of a fee.

Street traders, like all businesses, are subject to legal regulations. The following information is designed to set out in detail what regulations apply to street traders and how they are enforced.

What is street trading?

Street trading is the sale or exposing or offering for sale any article (including a living thing) in any street, road, footway or other area to which the public have access without payment.

The term ‘street’ includes any roadway, footway, pavement, precinct other area to which the public have access without payment, e.g. lay-by or car park whether on private land or not.

The following are exempted from requiring street trading consent:

• trading as a pedlar, i.e. going on foot from house to house selling goods directly.
• sales representatives and persons taking orders for later delivery.
• trading in established markets.
• selling newspapers or periodicals.

How do I obtain a street trading consent?

Application forms are available from the Licensing Department, Mole Valley District Council, Pippbrook, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1SJ. Email:licensing@molevalley.gov.uk

The following documentation will also be required with your application: –

• A completed Street Trading Consent Application Form;
• The payment of the required fee as appropriate for the trading applied for;
• Colour photographs showing the front, side and rear aspects of the stall, van, barrow, cart etc that will be used for the street trading activity;
• One passport size photograph of the applicant;
• A basic disclosure certificate (dated within one calendar month before submitting the application) for the applicant – https://www.gov.uk/request-copy-criminal-record;
• Completed convictions disclosure for each member of staff working for the trader;
• A copy of a current certificate of insurance that covers the street trading activity for third party and public liability risks, to a minimum value of £5 million;
• Written consent of the landowner;
• Written confirmation of the existence or non-requirement for planning permission;
• A copy of a map showing all streets and other public areas within a radius of 100 metres from the proposed location of the street trading site. The map shall be to a scale of 1:2500 and clearly indicate the location of the proposed site in the centre of the map, and the locations of other street traders, and shops trading in similar commodities to those

Once the completed application form and supporting documents have been submitted, the application will be subject to a 28-day consultation period.  The consultation will seek the views of local residents and businesses that may be directly affected and statutory agencies whose responsibilities may be impacted by the proposed business.  Consideration will be given to all written objections, which are not irrelevant, frivolous, vexatious, or repetitive.  If there are no valid objections or the application can be amended or conditions set in agreement with all parties a Street Trading Consent can be issued.

Do I need to obtain Consent if I am on private land?

Yes.  Case law exists in respect of the issue of private land – West Berkshire District Council v Simon Paine 2009, where it was stated that “whether the premises were private property was not a material consideration.  The court in the present case is not concerned with private property or public places.  It is concerned with areas to which the public have access without payment.”  

Will my street trading consent require renewal?

Yes – Consents are issued for a maximum of 12 months but may be issued for a shorter period.

Is my street trading consent transferable?

No – if you sell the business you must notify the Council immediately. The new owner of the business must apply to the Council for consent.

If I employ anyone to work for me, do they require consent?

No – A consent holder may employ other persons to assist in their trading without a further consent being issued providing their names and addresses have been given to the council.

Will any conditions be attached to a street trading consent?

Yes – Standard conditions are attached to all street trading consents. The conditions include:

• where the street trading may take place;
• when the street trading may take place;
• the type of goods to be sold;
• the means of street trading;
• names of any assistants employed;
• prevention of obstruction or nuisance;
• the provision of sufficient public liability insurance;
• the provision of satisfactory planning permission, if required.

Will my street trading consent permit me to trade in places outside Mole Valley District Council?

No – Your consent only applies to the designated area within Mole Valley District Council that you applied for.

If you intend to sell food, e.g. ice cream, burger van etc, you need to contact us and register your food business.

Complete an application form on GOV.UK.

For details on charges, see ‘Environment Health Fees and Charges’.

Charitable collections

House-to-house

If you would like to make a collection for money or goods from house-to-house for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes, you will need to obtain a free permit unless the charity is exempt.

Street collections

It is an offence to collect without a permit.

Complete an application form on GOV.UK.

Consent

If you have not received your permit or any contact from us within 10 working days, assume your permit has been issued and your collection can go ahead.

Fraud

We are under a duty to protect the public funds it administers and, to this end, it may use the information you have provided in order to access this service for the prevention and detection of fraud.

We may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.

For more information, see Fraud and Corruption.

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