Agenda item

The Street Trading Manager reported that temporary trading was occasionally permitted at particular locations, before a street was officially designated for street trading purposes.  This could be on application from the public, or a Council department.  A 28-day consultation would take place, with an advert in the local press inviting comments on applications. In this particular case, consultation had ended on 31 October 2016.

The Street Trading Officer then reported that the Street Trading Team had been dealing with illegal street trading outside Barclays Bank at 2 Highbury Corner for a couple of years.  This type of activity had encouraged other anti-social behaviour in the vicinity, such as begging and homeless sleeping.  In addition, promotional companies had been setting up without permission opposite the entrance to Highbury and Islington Station, causing congestion. As an experiment to address the anti-social behaviour, temporary licensed promotions were permitted outside the bank at 2 Highbury Place to encourage the unlicensed promotional companies away from the entrance to the Station. The experiment had been successful in reducing some of the anti-social behaviour problems and had created a “feel good” factor for residents and commuters who received free promotional gifts from the companies. The relocation to 2 Highbury Place had also helped to reduce the congestion caused outside the entrance to Highbury and Islington Station.

The plan was to designate an area 2.5 x 2.5m at 2 Highbury Place for a pitch, leaving sufficient footway outside Barclays Bank for pedestrians.  There had been great demand from companies to use the space.  The Street Trading Team were keen to put an end to the obstructions being caused by the promotional companies and to control their activities and to earn revenue for the Council in the process.  If these temporary sites were successful, it was anticipated that they would be rolled out to other suitable pitches across the Borough.

In response to questions from members, the Street Trading Officer stated that it was not possible to monitor what was there any more effectively, due to a lack of staffing, and that, during the experimental phase, companies using the space had been charged only £15 per day, though the charge could be increased for larger companies.  It was noted that fees would be invested directly into the ringfenced street trading account. If the Committee agreed to designate the site at 2 Highbury Corner for street trading purposes, there would be no trading permitted on Arsenal match days.  It was anticipated that trading would be permitted from Thursday to Saturday at 2 Highbury Corner.

The Street Trading Manager reported that her Team received many enquiries about the availability of trading pitches in the Borough. Hot take away goods usually meant an increase in street litter, so a balance would need to be struck about the type of goods on offer at this pitch. 

At 4.20pm, the Committee left the room for deliberation and returned to the Committee room at 4.45pm, to ask questions about the timescale for the completion of  TfL works at Highbury and Islington Station and plans for future works.

The Street Trading Officer said that she had asked TfL specifically when the bridge works at Highbury Corner would be completed and TfL had advised that the bulk of the work would be finished in early 2018, with minor finishing/reinstating works taking place up until the summer.  TfL had confirmed that they had no issue in principle with street trading taking place at 2 Highbury Place.  In response to a question, the Street Trading Officer said that there was no specific date set for the commencement of the roundabout works, but they were due to start this year.

In response to a further question as to whether any promoters had approached the Street Trading Team, the Street Trading Officer said that only one or two had approached the Council about trading at this particular pitch.

The Committee left the room at 4.50pm to deliberate and returned at 4.55pm.

RESOLVED:

That the area of the highway on the footway outside 2 Highbury Place, N5 1QZ and detailed in Appendices 2 and 3 of the report of the Service Director for Public Protection, be designated for trading purposes, every Monday to Sunday, from 08:00 hours to 18:00 hours, subject to the standard conditions associated with a street trading licence.

Reason for decision

The Committee considered all of the written and oral evidence.

The Committee noted the Street Trading Team’s wish to regulate the number of businesses promoting their goods at random sites around the Borough.

The Committee also noted that Transport for London, who were responsible for works taking place on the redevelopment of Highbury Corner, had no objections to occasional promotional activities taking place at the location. It was further noted that the temporary licensed promotional site outside Barclays Bank, 2 Highbury Place, N5, had kept promotional companies away from the entrance of Highbury and Islington Station, thus reducing congestion in the area, and had proved instrumental in deterring anti-social behaviour in the vicinity.

The Committee wished to support this area for ad hoc events to help to promote and enhance the local environment and to deter anti-social behaviour.

Note of the Committee

The Committee were concerned about the existing congestion caused by current and future TfL works in this vicinity. The Committee expected the Street Trading Team to allow limited trading only in the designated area whilst the TfL works continued.