Street traders

Street Trading is defined under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, Section 4, as the selling or exposing or offering for sale of any article (including any living thing) in a street. This includes, for example, burger, kebabs, doughnuts, chips and other things such as vehicles, household items, flowers or Christmas trees. For guidance to applicants, and information on how to apply, please refer to our Street Trading Policy in the documents section below. If you are going to be selling food you will need to be registered as a food business with the council. Further advice on starting a new food business can be found on the Environmental Health pages.

All streets in the district of Basingstoke and Deane have been designated as Consent Streets. This means that any person who wishes to sell items in a street must first obtain a Street Trading Consent from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Further, a street is defined in law as any road, footway, beach or other area (private or public) provided the public have access without payment and the area has been designated as a consent street. If you wish to trade on an area of private land that does not fall within the above definition, please speak to the Licensing Team as a Street Trading Consent may still be required. You may also require planning permission to trade from certain locations, check with Planning to determine if you need permissions.

If you are planning on operating between 23:00 to 0500 and provide hot drinks or hot food, you will need a Premises Licence from the council. Guidance on how to apply for a Premises licence can be found on the Licensing pages.

There is a service run by the council’s Economic Development team which provides advice to a new businesses starting up. If you would like any help or advice on running a business, then please contact Business support and advice.

Existing street traders

Exemptions

You do not need a Street Trading Consent if you are:

  • trading as a pedlar under licence issued by a Police Authority
  • a market trader operating at a licensed market venue
  • a news vendor selling only newspapers and periodicals
  • a roundsman
  • operating on private land which you have to pay to access

Unsuitable locations

The following locations have already been considered unsuitable for street trading:

  • Lay-by on southbound side of the A339 towards Alton at grid reference 465256.148524
  • Lay-by at Harrow Way, Viables, Basingstoke at grid reference 463211.150327
  • Car park at retail park, Wallop Drive, Basingstoke
  • Car park at Brighton Hill Retail Park, Winchester Road, Basingstoke
  • Car park and surrounding area adjacent to the Popinjay Public House, Popley, Basingstoke
  • Spur Road adjacent to Homebase rear entrance, Winchester Road, Basingstoke
  • Lay-by off roundabout at Winchester Road, Hatch Warren (near Sainsbury's)
  • Access road to rear of shops at retail park, Wallop Drive
  • Jays Close
  • Lister Road
  • Overton Hill Car Park
  • Shortwood Copse Lane

Contact

For further guidance on applying for a Street Trading Consent, or to make a complaint about a Street Trader, please email the Licensing team.

Licensing Team

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