Looks like Bath intends to spruce up the look of its city centre street-trading pitches in a proposed revision of its licensing policy.
Proposals to be discussed by a B&NES Licensing Committee next Monday – October 6th – will ‘set out a preferred set of standards for the design and appearance of stalls and compliance is expected from all street trading pitches.
If the proposals are adopted by the Council’s Cabinet in November then stalls within the main shopping area of Bath will be expected to use a particular design ‘in recognition of the importance of this area and the World Heritage status of the city.’
The area affected includes the central spine of Milsom Street and down through Union Street, Stall Street and Southgate Street – in addition to other popular areas such as Kingsmead Square, Sawclose and Terrace Walk.
The new standards would have to be adopted by all new applicants looking to be granted a street trading pitch and existing pitches would need to upgrade their units by January 1st next year.
The Virtual Museum hears that ‘to assist both existing applicants and new street traders, the Council has produced guidance notes which identify the types of stalls and standards of quality and design which would achieve compliance.In anticipation of this change, the Council has already been working with existing street traders to help them upgrade their units.’
Seems B&NES is going to buy a number of new look units and rent them out to traders ‘ on a cost recovery basis’ for the period that they have a street trading consent.
This would cost the council under ten thousand pounds in total and the money found from Licensing revenue budgets.
The proposal come after a review of the Council’s street trading policy to ensure it remains up to date.
‘The Council is keen that this revision of its Street Trading Policy emphasises the importance of street trading to both the local environment and local economy and the role it plays in helping small business to establish and grow.’
All of this come with a warning to anyone thinking of offering goods for sale without permission.
‘All streets in Bath and North East Somerset as designated as ‘ consent streets’. The effect of this is that, with certain exceptions, selling, exposing, or offering for sale any article in a street requires a street trading consent issued by the Council. Persons trading without a consent are liable to prosecution for an offence and , if convicted, can be fined up to level 3 of the standard scale, currently £1,000.’
