does this constitute trading?

inmypocketnottheirs

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

In what way David?

Don't worry, he has chipped in.

Mrs_Chip

Oh, sorry, not got my humerous head on this am . Please don't start with the fish puns, my brother has been doing it for weeks!

Owain_Moneysaver

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

We have scouted the local villages and there is plenty of scope for us to trade, many have an hour round trip to get to a chippy. We are also lucky to be in a tourist area, there are loads of big camp sites without any facilities. ... we will be looking for places on private land to trade from if we need to, breakfast or lunch trade would be a useful addition.

Have you budgeted for leafleting round the local villages? Have you identified locations where you can reliably park up where people can find you?

Have you got permission from campsites to go onto side and trade, and to have advertisements on site? - they'll be visitors who otherwise won't know you exist. If the campsite owner is uncoooperative they can make it hard for you to get any trade from their visitors.

If you are trading from fixed land locations then those locations may need individual change of use planning permission and premises licences for hot food takeaway.

I think a chip van could do well in winter too - providing the weather isn't too horrible people won't come out to get chips, people will prefer hot food at that time of year. But in rural areas you may do a lot of travelling and not a lot of selling.

Mrs_Chip

Owain

Yes, leafletting is in our budget, been to each of the villages and identified suitable parking sites (condition of applying for consent). We have also chosen locations that we can group together so that we can do 2-3 villages in an evening, with minimal travelling in between. Having spoken to locals, they are willing to drive from one village to another to pick up. We will be on Facebook/Twitter, so can alert if there are delays or to say we have arrived.

We are in the process of approaching campsite owners for permission to visit their sites, but as this will not be until the new season next year, we are soft-pedalling on that, just whilst we get started.

If permissions are an issue on private land we would not persue unless necessary, we anticipate having enough suitable locations between the villages and the camp sites.

Weather could be an issue, we have factored in days when trade might be poor, but hoping that if we manage to build up loyal customers they will come out anyway (they are used to the rain!)

texranger

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

We are currently completing the consent form (blimey what a palaver!), as soon as we are ready it will go in with the cheque for £1300 or so . as this is an annula charge, we dont want to pay it until we are ready to go.

have you factored in that as soon as you hand in the form and cheque this still means you cant trade until you hear back from the council as the application has to go infont of a committee for approval.
find out how often the committee meets, no good if they meet every 2 months and you submit your application the day after they have met, meaning you have to wait another 2 months.

Mrs_Chip

No, the chap at the council in charge of street trading did not say that - he seemed to suggest it was all down to him... but thanks, I will speak to them again to check this out.

soolin

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

No, the chap at the council in charge of street trading did not say that - he seemed to suggest it was all down to him... but thanks, I will speak to them again to check this out.

I think councils are much more careful now and don't allow someone alone to make a decision about trading. Your contact might have meant that his support for your venture would mean that the permission and license would almost certainly be given, but not that he can give it himself.

My own council expects all plans and permissions to go through the appropriate committee, and as has been said these committees might meet infrequently. If they run out of time, which locally they do most meetings then decisions are just put back to the next meeting.

soolin

Do you have an accountant or business advisor? If not you may want to get some paid advice as there are often ways and means of saving money when getting all th enecessary paperwork and documentation.

A neighbouring borough has this on their website about 'street trading'

You do not require a consent if;

• Trading as a peddler under licence issued by a police authority
• A market trader operating at a licensed market venue
• A news vendor selling only newspapers and periodicals
• If you are trading on private land you may not need consent.

Mrs_Chip

There is a long list of exclusions on the application form, as per those and several more. The guidance also suggests applications should be in 28 days before you want to start trading. Also says the application may be referred to other parts of the council for comments and consideration, thay have 7 days to respond.

texranger

our council states for street trading

1) you cant trade within a mile of a school
2) you are responsible for the cleaning of 100yrds around your approved pitch
3) you cannot trade on *****,***** and ***** high streets as their can not be anything on these street for commercial gain.


yet most days a local showman will have one of his kiddies rides on our high steet, then you have EON, EDF, SKY and several others have stands most weeks and the amount of shops that have items blocking the paths etc.