Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Cllrs Boyes, Pemberton and Willingham.

There were none.

The Licensing Officer introduced the report as published.

The responses to Members questions were as follows:

-       The street trading consent fees are published as a requirement on the website, there is also a list of the fees that are applicable on the street trading part of the website.

-       A Member commented that it seemed generous that the trader had not had to pay consent fees for the first year that they were in operation due to an administrative error.  The licensing officer confirmed that this is the case when an administrative error occurs.

The street traders representative was given the opportunity to ask the licensing officer questions.  The response to her question was as follows:

-       There was confirmation from the licensing officer that there had been administrative errors previously on street trading consents and they were also not charged for the consent for the year that the error occurred in.

The street traders representative was then asked to address the committee and made the following points:

-       The business is a small independent coffee box outside the church.

-       More than 300 people have signed the petition and many have sent letters in support of the appeal. 

-       Parts of these letters were read to the committee, stating that the business is a part of the community and has bought people together, it is a great place to visit as a cancer patient at the hospital as it provides a safe place for people to socialise in the fresh air, a lady with a daughter with special needs stated that the business was a welcoming place and her daughter was made to feel comfortable there, it is a meeting place for people who can’t walk far.  The Church Parish Council also submitted a letter in support which was in the published evidence.

-       Small and micro businesses are the beating heart of Cheltenham.

-       This business is not just a coffee shop it is built for connection and has had 1500 customers over the last year.

-       The street trading consent fee is more than 20% of her profit which is a crippling amount to any small business.

-       The report stated that all street traders pay the fees required, she believed that this was not the case and felt compelled to raise concerns regarding this.

-       The costs were never clearly communicated and the day by day system is not transparent.

-       She stated that they had not been told about the consent fee on renewals and only learnt about the hearing 10 weeks ago.

-       The advice that they have been given from the licensing team has not been consistent as she had been told 2 different fees.

-       The licence costs more than the fee for a sexual entertainment venue and for a late night refreshment licence and she perceived that these venues need more enforcement.

-       The licensing department state that there are only 4 other traders and they know that there are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

There were none.

The date of the next meeting is 6^th August 2025.