Review Of Arun Street Trading Rules For First Time Since The 80s

From Monday, the public will be able to give their views on street trading rules across Arun.

During a meeting of Arun District Council’s licensing committee yesterday (Friday), officers said the current rules were adopted in the 1980s.

They explained that ‘dramatic changes’ to the area have happened in the roughly 40 years since – and especially during the pandemic – but no review of street trading rules had taken place.

That is set to change and, from Monday (September 13), members of the public will be able to take part in a six-week consultation.

Officers said that the council ‘has got to respond to change over the last 18 months’ adding that proper oversight of street trading could bring ‘vibrancy’ and ‘increased footfall’ to the district.

They also said that the number of enquiries from people looking to trade on the streets was on the increase.
Andy Cooper (Con, Angmering and Findon) said:

“This work highlights what we need to do to control and improve what is potentially going to be the future of our streets post-pandemic.”

A review would assess the rules for street traders selling everything from food to household goods and would cover issues such as sustainability, safety, the sale of restricted goods and trader conduct.

Committee chairman Billy Blanchard-Cooper (Lib Dem, Brookfield) said ‘this will really benefit the area’ because a lot of businesses had been looking to ‘operate differently’ both during and after the pandemic.

Council officers recommended that trading on some streets should be prohibited for accessibility and safety reasons as well as minimising disruption to residents.

Rustington councillor Pauline Gregory (Lib Dem) noted that there were no ‘prohibited streets’ currently proposed for her ward, adding:

“There’s likely to be some objections.”

Officers said the public would be able to voice any concerns they may have during the consultation period.

They added that a street trading policy would be relevant for the ‘whole district’ and therefore they wanted to hear ‘as much feedback as possible’.

ADC officers confirmed that a summary of proposed street trading rules would be published alongside the consultation. This followed concerns from Sandra Daniells (Arun Ind, Pevensey) that a ‘long’ and ‘technical’ document would deter members of the public from taking part.