Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The Street Trading Act (NI) 2001 (the Act) provides district councils with the power to designate or to rescind the designation of specific streets or parts of streets as being suitable for street trading.

1.2       If a street has not been Designated under the Act the Council cannot issue a Licence for street trading from a stationary position in that street.

1.3       At present, as previously decided by Committee, the designation process will be undertaken every 2 years to reduce the costs to the Council.

1.4       At your meeting of June 2019 the Committee granted approval to initiate the statutory process for the designation of a new street trading site. Therefore any new proposed street trading sites will not be considered by the Council before June 2021.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to consider if they wish to deviate from the current policy regarding street trading designation time frames and agree that a new designation process be commenced.

3.0       Main Report

Key Issues

Background

3.1       The Act sets down the procedures which must be followed in considering whether to designate a site or rescind a designation. The steps the Council must undertake are summarised as follows:

a)   Give public notice of the proposed resolution;

b)   Consult with the PSNI, Department for Infrastructure, licence holders (if any) and other persons it considers appropriate;

c)   Consider any representations relating to the proposed resolution which it has received;

d)   After the Council has considered those representations it may, if it thinks fit, pass the Designating Resolution;

e)   Publish notice of the outcome for 2 consecutive weeks in 2 or more newspapers, giving not less than 28 days between the date of the publication and the date set out by the Council when the Designating Resolution will come into effect.

3.2       The Council has received two applications for new sites as well as a number of other enquiries about designating new sites.

3.3       Officers have advised those enquiring about the Council’s policy on carrying out designation every two years and that any new proposed street trading sites will not be considered by the Council before June 2021.

3.4       Given the current situation and the impact it has had on the economy this advice has been met with disappointment by prospective applicants.

3.5       In an effort to assist permission is sought to deviate from the agreed policy and to engage with those who have made enquires and to bring back a report detailing the proposed sites for designation to a future meeting of the Committee.

Financial and Resource Implications

3.6       There are direct financial costs such as the cost of publishing statutory notices in newspapers, attached to the designation process. We estimate the cost of the required notices to be £3,500. These costs are included in the existing revenue budget.

Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Assessment

3.7       There are no equality or good relations issues associated with this report.”

            The Committee noted the deviation from the current policy regarding street trading designation time frames and agreed that a new designation process be commenced, as outlined in the report.