We have recently introduced a new Policy to ensure that Street Trading is carried out in a safe and legal way in Bassetlaw.
This policy helps to protect the public and small businesses and we encourage street traders to contact our Licensing Team or follow our advice in the Street Trader section of our website if you have any questions.
As a Council, we support small businesses and have packages in place that allow them to thrive and grow.
We also understand that any new charges for small businesses will not be welcomed, especially in this current financial climate.
However, legislation is in place to ensure that Street Trading is carried out in a safe and legal way and Bassetlaw, along with many other Local Authorities in England, have adopted licensing practices that help to protect the public and small businesses.
A new Street Trading Policy was adopted by Bassetlaw District Council in August, which followed a full review, including public consultation, over a period of 18 months. This policy does not apply to any business that trades as part of our markets.
The benefits of asking traders to be licensed helps to protect the public by monitoring standards such as food hygiene, electrical and gas safety, the right to work in the UK, vehicle safety and ensuring that a location is safe to trade from.
This licence includes fees and charges that will ensure that Street Traders are able to conduct their business in a safe and legally compliant way.
As the policy is still in its early phase of adoption, we are currently relaxing our approach to enforcement so that we can have meaningful conversations with traders about the policy and how this is affecting their business.
We encourage anyone who needs to apply for a Street Trader Licence to contact us and we will provide the best possible advice on how this policy applies to your business, and any costs that this may incur.
We are aware that some inaccurate charges have been circulated on social media and a detailed breakdown of our charges can be found in the Street Trading section of our website.
We are also exploring the possibility of applying amendments to the policy as a direct result of these conversations and will take any proposed changes back to the Council’s Licensing Committee for consideration.
Last Updated on Tuesday, September 2, 2025