From September 1997, the council has resolved that all streets within Bury Council will be 'consent streets' for street trading purposes, other than those previously designated as 'prohibited streets'. The prohibited streets are the areas around the town centre precincts of Bury, Whitefield, Prestwich and Radcliffe. This means that since this date, you will need consent in writing to sell or offer any articles for sale in the borough's consent streets.
All applications for a Street Trading Consent must be received by Bury Licensing Service at least ten working days prior to the first day on which the event is to take place.
If you intend to sell food, the vehicle or stall or barrow will have to be inspected by an officer from our Environmental Health Team before issue of a consent. You may also need to be registered as a food business.
Definition of terms used in the guide:
- Stall: includes any vehicle, cart, barrow and any form of portable stall
- Street: includes;
- any road, footway, beach or other area to which the public have access without payment
- service area as defined in section 329 of the Highways act 1980
- Street Trading: means with certain exceptions, the selling or exposing or offering for sale of any article (including a living thing) in a street
- Consent Street: means a street in which trading is prohibited.
The issuing of a consent does not mean you have a right to operate from any particular site.
Who needs consent
Everyone wishing to trade in the streets of the borough will be affected, with certain exceptions, which are:
- a pedlar holding a current pedlar's certificate and acting as a pedlar, under the authority of the pedlar's Act 1871
- a trader as part of an authorised market or fair
- a news vendor
- a trader at a petrol filling station
- a person trading in association with an adjoining shop premises
- a roundsman.
We can help you to decide whether you need a consent. By law, we must not grant a consent to any person(s) under the age of 17.
You cannot trade in any of the parks in the borough without consent from our Parks and Countryside Service, phone 0161 253 5904.
Prohibited areas
Even though you may have been granted a consent for street trading, there are four zones within the borough where street trading is not allowed. The boundaries of these zones can be provided by contacting us.
Applying for consent
All applications for a Street Trading Consent must be received by Bury Licensing Service at least ten working days prior to the first day on which the event is to take place. The completed application form and the requisite fee must be delivered or sent to: Bury Licensing Service, 3 Knowsley Place, Duke Street, Bury, BL9 0EJ.
If your application is close to the date that the event will take place, it is in your interest to hand deliver the application to ensure that it will be processed in time. Details of any assistants need to be on the application form and present at the Licensing office (this is because he or she will need their picture taking).
Consents will be renewable on a 12 monthly basis. We will endeavour to send you a reminder before the expiry date, but the responsibility to ensure you have current consent rests with yourself.
Any person found trading without a valid consent, will be liable for immediate prosecution.
Consent refunds
If you either surrender your consent or we revoke it for any reason, you are entitled to a refund on the amount which you have paid. A proportion of the fee will be refunded equivalent to one twelfth of the fee for each full calendar month outstanding less an administration fee of £100 which is non-refundable. This refund will become effective from the date of the first day of the following month on which the badge, consent and plate are returned to the council, we will then send a request to our finance department who will order a bank transfer.
We cannot give cash refunds. Refunds are in the form of a bank transfer and you will need to provide an account number and sort code.
