Street Trading Policy

Overview

This consultation seeks views on a proposal to improve the control of street trading within Rotherham.  The details of the proposal can be found in our draft Street Trading Policy which is available here: RMBC Draft Street Trading Policy

More detail is included within the policy, but in general the term "street trading" includes trading on any piece of land to which the public have access without charge.  It includes car parks, footpaths, roads, parks and playing fields.  

For the purposes of this consultation, "street trading" does not include trading at a market, traders operating in accordance with a Pedlars Certificate (issued by the Police), trading on a petrol station forecourt or trading on the street next to a shop. 

The control of street trading in Rotherham is currently achieved through a combination of powers provided by Highways and Planning legislation. The control of street trading is not the primary purpose of this legislation, and so it is largely ineffective.

The ineffectiveness of the current approach has introduced a number of concerns:

• new businesses that seek to trade on the Borough’s streets are unable to do so
• there is no control or fairness in relation to the way that existing street traders operate
• consumer protection is undermined because the identity of the street traders is not known
• street traders are not currently vetted or assessed as being suitable to engage in an activity such as street trading (including products aimed at children)

In order to address the issues identified above, the Council believes that it is necessary and important to introduce a new framework that will promote the benefits of street trading, whilst at the same time protecting local people and neighbourhoods from the negative effects of the current approach.

Why your views matter

As with all proposals that have the potential to impact on residents and businesses, it is essential that we seek the views of those that are affected by the proposals, along with the views of local residents and other stakeholders.

This is an opportunity for you to tell us what you think about these proposals and make sure that your views are taken into account when we make the final decison regarding the Policy.