Agenda item

The Licensing Officer, Phil Cooper, introduced the report regarding an application from Mrs Ellen Danter for a seasonal consent to trade on the High Street, at its junction with Cambray Place, from 11 November to 31 December 2016.   Mrs Danter proposed selling hot and cold food and drinks as listed in 1.1 of the report from a hot food unit measuring 4.8m x 2.4m, on the days and times as set out in 1.3 of the report.

Appendix 1 showed the location of the proposed trading pitch and Appendix 2 an image of the trading unit. 

The Officer informed members that the proposed trading location was one approved for street trading in the council’s adopted policy, however the policy restricted the type of goods to be traded from that location to signup services and buskers selling merchandise, not food and drink.  Also the proposed trading unit was larger than the permitted size.  He continued that one objection had been received from the Cheltenham Business Partnership Manager as outlined in 4.1 of the report.

He advised members that whilst the proposed trading unit did not comply with the council’s policy, they may grant the application if they were satisfied that there were reasonable and defensible grounds to depart from the policy in this instance.  Otherwise members may refuse the application.

In response to questions from members, the Officer confirmed that the trading unit was 11.52sq m, with the council’s policy being no larger than 6sq m, and that Mrs Danter had traded in this location for the past 3 years and prior to that had traded nearer to M&S and WH Smith.  The Officer advised that the Licensing Team had worked with and advised Mrs Danter when she applied for the new location and that there had been no adverse complaints since being in this location with the exception of one or two local food businesses who felt they lost some trade.  He advised that Cheltenham Business Partnership (CBP) was consulted on all new applications and they choose which local businesses to consult with and the CBP do not normally tell the licensing team which businesses they have contacted.  He agreed that the unit was almost twice the recommended size for the approved location and that it was positioned across the highway with the serving hatch facing down towards the town centre.

The Chair invited Mrs Danter to speak in support of her application.  Mrs Danter informed members that her family had been street trading since 1984 (32 years) in Cheltenham and for 13 years had had a Christmas stall selling Christmas fayre in the centre of Cheltenham. She clarified that originally she was opposite M&S, but when there was highway work in the town centre she was offered another position and had been at this location for 3 years.  She remarked that it was not as viable, but that they worked hard and gave a good service to the people of Cheltenham.  Mrs Danter commented that she did not believe that her unit was very different in size in square feet to that of the fruit juice stall opposite Cavendish House and that she had not had any problems with the size in the past.  She referred to the construction work in relation to the arrival of the John Lewis store which may affect her stall, but said she was willing to try and see what happened and hoped the committee would consider her application favourably.

In reply to questions from members, Mrs Danter confirmed that she and her family worked primarily on the stall with help from a boy who worked with them and they shared the hours.  All were well aware of food safety and health and hygiene regulations and knew what they were doing.  She said that obstruction of the highway from queues was not a problem and that if there were a number of people at the stall they stood in front of it.  She also confirmed they had a built in generator.

Some members expressed concern about the size of the unit in this location and asked the Officer if there were any other spaces in the policy that would accommodate something over 6m.  The Officer confirmed that there were no approved locations in the town centre but larger units were allowed on industrial estates.

There was general concern about the extensive works in the High Street and inevitable future works in connection with the John Lewis development and the effect this might have on this trading location.  The Officer reported that John Lewis will not be open this year but that if highways works are needed then street trading consents can be moved to different locations temporarily subject to consultation, as happened with the falafel seller on the High Street when highways works were carried out in that location.  One member questioned whether precedence was a legitimate reason for deviating from policy, bearing in mind the size of the stall and that it had been in this location for 3 years.  The Officer advised that each application had to be considered on its own merit and that this application didn’t come to committee last year, but due to the implementation of the new policy and the fact that this application deviated from the new policy on the grounds of its size and that the location is not an approved location for the sale of hot food and drink, it had to be referred to committee this year.

A couple of members added that it was a well-run business that was good on waste collection and keeping the location tidy and felt that it was a valuable addition to the street scene at Christmas.

There being no further questions or comments, the Chair moved to vote.

Upon a vote, it was 7 for, 1 against and 1 abstention.

RESOLVED THAT, Mrs Ellen Danter’s application for a street trading consent to sell hot and cold food and drinks on approved site High Street 6  from 11 November to 31 December 2016 be approved, as members were satisfied that the location was suitable and that it would enhance the seasonal street scene at Christmas.

Mrs Danter thanked the committee saying common sense prevailed and that if they needed to move because of the John Lewis development that this would not be a problem.