Street Trading Consent
What is Street Trading Consent?
To trade in the street in the Maidstone Borough, you must have
consent from Maidstone Borough Council. Street trading consents are
renewable annually.
Anyone caught trading without the appropriate consent will have
their stock and equipment confiscated.
Please note that you need to apply to the authority
relevant to where you want to trade, not to where you are based. If
we grant your consent, you must abide by any conditions attached
and you must not move your stall from the pitch where you are
permitted to trade.
Legal Regulations
Street Trading is regulated under the Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
Am I eligible?
All applicants for street trading consents must be over 17 years
old.
We will not be able to grant your consent if:
- There isn’t enough space in the street where you wish to trade,
without causing inconvenience to street users,
- You are unsuitable to hold a consent due to any relevant
previous convictions
How do I apply?
We need to know exactly where you propose to trade, which days
and times you want to trade and what you want to trade.
You must also provide:
- Two duly authorised photos of yourself,
- A street plan of the area where you want to set up your
pitch.
These can be uploaded electronically with your application form,
or posted in to the Licensing Team, Maidstone House, King Street,
Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6JQ.
You can
apply online for street trader’s consent. The fee is
£351.00, which is payable annually. Please use this form
for new applications and your annual renewal. You will be
redirected to an online payment facility at the end of your
application.
Alternatively, you can contact us using the details to the right
hand side of the page, and we will post you a form to complete and
return to us with a cheque made payable to Maidstone Borough
Council. We will also post out a form for your annual renewal to
you on request.
How do I make changes to my consent?
If you are a consent-holder and need to change your personal
details (for example a change of name or address) or you would like
to add an assistant to your consent, you must apply to us to
formalise this. Your assistant must not have any relevant previous
convictions, and you need to provide duly authorised photos of him
or her.
You can
apply to change your street trader’s consent online.
This is free.
You may also be able to use this online form if you want to make
changes to your hours of operation – please contact us first using
the details to the right of the page for advice.
Please note: if you want to change the pitch where
you trade, you will need to make a completely new application, and
pay a new application fee.
What happens next?
It can take up to 90 calendar days to process your application.
This incorporates a 14 day period to allow for any interested
parties to make representations, and then an extended period to
allow for a hearing at the Licensing Committee if representations
are received.
We will either grant the application within this time and then
issue your consent, or come to another decision and serve you with
a notice explaining this.
If you do not hear back from us after 90 days have expired, you
can consider your application granted. However, the “clock” can
stop if we need to ask you for any further information – so please
stay in touch with us during the application period.
Also, you must have a copy of your street
trader’s consent available for inspection whenever you trade.
If we do decide there are grounds for refusal but the
application is in the main acceptable, we may still be able to
grant your consent, with restrictions such as the number of days of
trading, the location of the pitch, or the items traded.
We will serve you with an explanatory notice if we refuse the
application outright, or decide to vary or revoke any consent you
may already have.
Can I appeal against the Council’s decision?
If we decide to refuse the application, or grant it with extra
conditions, you have seven days from the notice of decision to make
representations in writing. If you want to appeal against our
decision, you may ask for a Judicial Review at the High Court.
Please contact us first, using the details to the right of this
page.
What do I do if I want to complain?
Maidstone Borough Council operates a complaints procedure. If
you are unhappy with the service you have received from us,
view the complaints procedure or
make a complaint.
If you are a street trader and have a complaint about the
behaviour of another street trader, please contact us in the first
instance, using the details to the right of this page.
If you as a shopkeeper or member of the public wish to complain
about problems with a street trader such as littering, public
nuisance, or the trader not keeping to their pitch etc., please
contact us immediately.
If you are the customer of a street trader and have a problem
with the service you have received, we advise that the first
contact is made with the trader by you - preferably in the form of
a letter (with proof of delivery). If that does not work, and you
are located in the UK, Consumer Direct will give
you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre.