Street Trading

[UPDATE 28/01/2026: We are currently reviewing our policy and so we are not accepting applications for street trading until after the consultation period, details of which can be found in the section below] 

All local authorities have a legal discretion to regulate street trading in their area. Street trading is governed by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 Schedule 4 (as amended).

Street Trading Policy Consultation 2026 

About Street Trading

A Street Trading Policy should give protections to the trader, the Council, and all other users of our public spaces. This policy is designed to fully explain the extent to which traders can operate on Council-owned land.

In essence, a street trading policy is a blanket designation so that the Council can exert some control and management of people selling articles from our publicly-accessible spaces. There are also other mechanisms by which the Council provides an element of control, for example, any person selling food for public consumption must also be registered with the environmental health team for that area.

The Council adopted the provisions of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1982 and so it has become necessary for the Council to provide consent for street trading in the way it is described in the Act, with 12-month Consents. In the proposed Street Trading Policy, we set out consent streets for street trading and within the consent streets the Policy sets out approved 'Commercial Trading Sites' where individuals are able to trade with the consent of the Council. The Policy also sets out 'prohibited streets' where street trading will not be authorised by the Council. 

Street Traders broaden the choice of food outlets to both residents and visitors.  We work to mitigate the impact of noise and aromas as a result of trading in our public spaces and can do this by working with the traders under the terms and conditions of the policy.  

Why do we need a new policy?

The Licensing Committee has determined that there should be a review of our current Street Trading Policy to make the application process (which involves multiple Council departments) clearer for traders.  

The draft Street Trading Policy 2026 recommends that the only sites that can be used for street trading on St Mary’s are those sites listed in the draft policy as ‘Commercial Trading Sites.’

The prohibited streets remain the same as in the previous policy, with the addition of Church Street and the Parade. The reason for those additions being that, in the view of the Highways Department, those areas are unsuitable for street trading as they are likely to cause traffic or road safety issues. 

It is proposed that the Council will NOT consider any street trading applications other than those applying to use Commercial Trading Sites. Therefore, any selling of articles in public places (on Council owned land) that is not in a Commercial Trading Site under the provision of a consent, or not listed under an exemption, will be classified as unauthorised street trading and the Council will enforce against those persons.

The proposed usable hours for the sites are 9am to 8pm daily, and we will only be accepting applications for those who wish to sell food as their primary product. This new draft policy also includes various local exemptions in addition to the statutory exemptions from the requirements to obtain a street trading consent, they are contained at paragraphs 3-11 of the proposed policy. 

Other protections

It must always be remembered that the public, including nearby dwellings, have built-in protections within existing legislation. They will continue to have rights to enjoy their property, or a nearby public space, free from excess noise or smells (statutory nuisances). These protections remain in place under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and enforcement will be managed by the Environmental Health Officer for the Council, as part of their delegated authority.

How to respond to the consultation 

We value your voice on all our policies and so we ask that you give consideration to our new draft policy and let us know if you think we can do better, or if you think we have the balance just right.

To respond to this consultation, please take the following steps:

• Read the DRAFT Street Trading Policy attached to the bottom of this page.
• Respond to our Street Trading Policy Survey by clicking on the link below: 

CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO OUR STREET TRADING SURVEY

If you do not wish to complete the survey online, you can request a paper copy from the customer hubs at St Mary's Library or the Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre. You will need to return your response to these venues in a sealed envelope addressed to the Licensing Department, or post it back to us at the following address:

Licensing Department
Council of the Isles of Scilly
Old Wesleyan Chapel
Garrison Lane
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JD

All responses must be received before the deadline at 4.30pm on 27 February 2026 in order to be taken into account.  

If you have any further questions about this consultation, please email licensing@scilly.gov.uk or call 00300 1234 105 and ask to speak to the Licensing Officer.

Next steps

Responses to the consultation will be analysed and taken into consideration following the deadline, with amendments made to the draft as necessary. The draft policy will then be taken to Full Council for approval before it comes into effect. 

Privacy Notice - Street Trading Consultation 2026

We will use the information you provide for the purposes of the consultation process to inform The Council of the Isles of Scilly’s proposed Street Trading Policy.

The Data Controller for the information you provide in this survey is:

Council of the Isles of Scilly
Old Wesleyan Chapel
Garrison Lane
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JD

Data Protection Registration Number: Z5715100

Once the survey has closed, your data will be held within the Council of the Isles of Scilly’s secure network and premises for up to 2 years. If any personal data is provided on this form, we will only make access to this data available to authorised members of staff who are required to process it for the purposes outlined in this privacy notice. Please note that other information you provide, such as responses to open questions, may be published in full. We will not publish personal data with the exception of those persons responding in an official capacity as an officer of the Council or a partner organisation.