Content

Notification of decision following a Licensing Panel hearing to
determine an application for a temporary street trading licence
pursuant to the London Local Authorities Act 1990, as
amended
 

SITE:           
To be positioned along Chiswick High Road, The Old Market Place
area between Linden Gardens and Devonshire Road plus area between
Devonshire Road and Annandale Road, Chiswick
 
TO:
            
Cook Book Kitchen CIC T/A Chiswick Cheese Market (“the
Applicant”)
  
TAKE NOTICE THAT
following a hearing before the Licensing and General
Purposes Sub-Committee (“the Licensing Panel” or
“Panel”)
 
ON 22 October
2024 The London Borough Of
Hounslow, as the relevant Licensing
Authority
 
RESOLVED:  That the application for
a Temporary Street Trading Licence for a Sunday market, to be held
between 9.30am to 3.00pm on the third Sunday of every month up to
and including Sunday 16 March 2025, for 59 stalls and up to 6 A
Boards in the area between Linden Gardens and Devonshire Road plus
the area between Devonshire Road and Annandale Road, was
GRANTED, with amendments to some of the standard conditions in
the Council’s Street Trading Policy conditions as set out
below.
 
 
REASONS:
 

1)       
The Licensing Panel convened to determine an
application in respect of the grant of a Temporary Street Trading
Licence made pursuant to section 31 of the London Local Authorities
Act 1990, as amended (the “Act”).
 

2)       
The application, which is shown at Appendix A of the
Agenda pack, originally sought a temporary licence for up to 60
market stalls between Linden Gardens and Devonshire Road plus the
area between Devonshire Road and Annandale Road, as per the plan
shown at page 15 of the Agenda, for the purposes of a Cheese
Market. Following representations, the number of market stalls
sought by the Applicant was reduced to 59 stalls, as per the plan
shown at Appendix B, page 19, of the Agenda.  The market is proposed to run between 9.30am to
3.00pm every third Sunday of the month up to and including 16 March
2025.
 

3)       
The Applicant had been operating the Cheese Market
in Chiswick for some years through a series of temporary street
trading licences, and had an existing Temporary Street Trading
Licence that permitted up to 48 stalls located between Linden
Gardens and Devonshire Road.   The
application before the Panel sought to extend the physical area the
market covered to include the area between Devonshire Road and
Annadale Road, and also to increase the overall number of stalls
from 48 to 59, which was achieved by making a number of the
existing stalls smaller so they could accommodate more stalls
within the same space shown in the Plan in Appendix B.
 

4)       
During the consultation process, the Licensing
Authority received four representations in total.  Two of these came from nearby residents or
businesses, one came from the operator of the Chiswick Flower
Market, and the other came from the Council’s Investment
Opportunities Officer. These representations are set out in
Appendix C and Appendix D and raise issues such as the unfair
advantage market traders may have over bricks and mortar
businesses, concerns over the effect that the extended market may
have on footfall through Chiswick High Road, the number of markets
that are ongoing, litter concerns, the hours of operation and the
effect on traffic and parking. 
 

5)       
The Chiswick Flower market and the Council’s
Investment Opportunities Officer raised the issue of the original
stall number 1 being on the site of a proposed seating area, for
which a Traffic Management Order process had been initiated, and,
as mentioned in paragraph 2 above, the Applicant subsequently
amended their plans to remove this stall from their plan and reduce
the overall number of stalls to 59.
 

6)       
Appendix C1 to the Agenda encloses replies from the
Applicant to two of the objectors.
 

7)       
The Licensing Panel carefully considered all the
relevant information including:
 
-    Written and oral
representations submitted by all the parties
-
   Oral representations made by the
parties during the licensing panel hearing
-    The London Local
Authorities Act 1990 as amended (“the
Act”)
-    Hounslow
Council’s Street Trading Policy (“the
Policy”)
-    The Human Rights Act
1998
 

8)       
At the meeting the Applicant was represented by
Jules Kane and Lucy Cufflin.  None of
the objectors were present.
 

9)       
In her oral statement to the Panel, Ms Kane
addressed some of the issues raised by the objectors, as well as
making submissions in support of her application.   She confirmed they were seeking an extension
to their existing cheese market, which had a waiting list of new
traders wanting to attend, and were looking for a small and
manageable increase in the number of stalls in the
market.  They stated that the market had
become well known and attracted visitors from other parts of London
as well as locally, and did not want to adversely affect local
bricks and mortar businesses, and only to have a limited number of
stalls allowing hot food takeaways.  As
a result of the success of the market they said they were able to
donate more than £30,000 to charity and support small traders
in the cheese industry.
 

10)   
With regard to litter, Ms Kane stated that she
arrived on site early on Sunday morning to start clearing up litter
in the market area before stall holders arrived, and litter sweeps
were carried out during and after the market hours.  On the issue of parking, the Panel was told that
most of the traders attended other markets as well so they would
arrive to drop off their goods before moving on to the next
market.  They also reiterated that they
believed that a lot of their visitors came by foot or by tube, as
they had noticed a decrease in footfall on days there was an issue
with the trains.
 

11)   
She confirmed that they had complied with all health
and safety requirements and would that ensure stall holders did so
as well.
 

12)   
In response to questions from the Panel, further
details were provided about the litter collection and temporary bin
placements in and around the market area.  The Panel was told most of their traders were
involved in the making and/or selling of cheese and so were used to
dealing with food and hygiene requirements.  It was also confirmed via the Licensing Officer
that no objection to use the land had been received from the
Council, as the landowner of the proposed market site.
 

13)   
The Panel was also informed that traders arrived
from 7.00am, and the site was usually cleared by 4.30pm at the
latest.  Single use plastics were not
allowed and so use of paper or card was encouraged and there was
sufficient space for emergency vehicles to get through if
necessary.
 

14)   
With regard to the issue of ‘A Boards’,
some traders did use these, but the location of such boards was
monitored by them to ensure they fell within the area marked out
for the stall so that it did not cause an obstruction, eg, to people with visual impairments.  They would be discouraging the use of ‘A
Boards’, would not be having one for each stall and would be
seeking a licence for six A Boards to be used.
 

15)   
The Panel also asked about the power supply for
stalls, and was informed this was by gas and/or electricity, and
they ensured these were properly certified. They had also purchased
rubber mats to cover any trailing cables.
 
DECISION:
 

16)   
The Act provides the Council with a measure of
discretion when deciding whether to issue a Temporary Street
Trading Licence and the Council’s Street Trading Policy
provides for all applications to consider various issues as set out
therein, which include consideration of public safety, prevention
of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, the
appearance and suitability of the stall/vehicle and environmental
credentials.  The Policy also requires
applications to consider the needs of the area, this being the
demand for the articles for sale and the geographical location of
the proposed site.
 

17)   
Having considered all the written and oral
representations by all parties, the Panel was of the view that the
Applicant appeared to be operating the market in a satisfactory
manner, including ensuring that they were able to properly manage
the market both in its existing format and in the enlarged format
as set out in its application. The Applicant was able to provide
the Panel with responses that reassured the Panel as to the manner
in which the market was to operate, including litter clearance, and
given its focus on cheese, charcuterie, cheese accompaniments, and
having only a very limited number of hot food takeaway stalls,
there was less likelihood of a significant overlap with existing
shop owners in the area, which should minimise any potential
detriment to local shops. 
 

18)   
The Panel therefore decided to GRANT the
application for a Temporary Street Trading Licence for a maximum of
59 stalls, as per the location shown in the plan shown in Appendix
B, namely the area between Linden Gardens and Devonshire Road, and
between Devonshire Road and Annadale Road, Chiswick.  The Panel also decided to GRANT permission
for the use of up to six ‘A Boards’ at the
market.
 

19)   
Given that the Council’s Street Trading Policy
is geared towards individual stalls rather than to a market, the
Panel also decided to amend conditions 64, 65 and 68 of the
standard conditions in the Policy as follows:
 

64. The Licence Holder must be the principal
operator and have day to day control of the market. The Licence
Holder may employ any other person to assist in operating the
market and shall notify the Head of Business Regulation/Licensing
Manager of the name and address of that person.

65. Anyone who operates a stall/vehicle must be
approved by the Licence Holder and must operate within the Licence
Holder’s terms of business or be authorised by the Head of
Business Regulation/Licensing Manager.

68. The Licence Holder must be the principal
operator of the market and must be physically present at that
market the majority of the time. Occasional help is permissible
with prior approval of the Licensing Manager or head of Business
Regulation.
 

20)   
The Panel was informed that the Council no longer
issued ID passes to market or stall holders and therefore condition
48 of the standard conditions is to be removed.
 

21)   
There is no right of appeal by any party in relation
to the determination in respect of a Temporary Street Trading
application.  The decision of the Panel
is therefore final.