Buckinghamshire Council is proposing to introduce a new street trading policy, which Wendover Parish Council has rejected in its entirety in the response to Buckinghamshire Council’s consultation.
Buckinghamshire Council is proposing that:
all street traders will require consent to trade in accessible public areas, unless exempt by law or by local dispensation
street traders will need to meet set criteria to gain consent
street trading will be appropriate to the environment and in line with our corporate plan and health and wellbeing strategy
Wendover Parish Council believes that it is a solution without a problem and that the red tape and financial costs to traders will put many out of business and discourage new and innovative trading. It will impact on the Saturday Local Produce Market, Christmas Event and the Picnic in the Park – perhaps leading to the cancellation of those events because of the costs and timeframes required to comply with the new legislation.
To view the draft policy and submit a response visit Buckinghamshire Council Street Trading Policy consultation - Your Voice Bucks - Citizen Space.
Wendover Parish Council's response:
We write with reference to your proposed policy, in our capacity both as representatives of local businesses and residents, and as event organisers in the parish of Wendover.
Attached (see below document) we have set out in detail our concerns with the proposal. We have also included views canvassed from local traders, many of whom are surviving on the slenderest margins and have expressed deep anxiety at what they see as an unwarranted, unsolicited, inefficient initiative.
On their behalf and speaking for ourselves let me avoid equivocation by stating clearly that we reject the proposal in its entirety. It is a solution without a problem, an answer without a question; the red tape it adds will be measured in time and cost to traders and event organisers, potentially putting some out of business and discouraging others; and it exports decision making away from the communities impacted to a remote body who read about the consequences of their decisions rather than living with them.
Once again, we are struck by the lack of meaningful consultation time for a major BC initiative. Notification does not constitute consultation, nor does it compensate for the absence of a consultation. Whilst a decision on this major policy change may not yet have been taken, it has already generated significant anxiety and bad feeling.
We therefore earnestly request that it be set aside before more damage is done. If there truly is an issue with extant policy and procedures, let’s start with an honest conversation about what is wrong and what improvements could be introduced. At this time, however, those most affected by your proposal neither agree the problem nor the solution.
Read a more detailed response from Wendover Parish Council to the proposed policy below.