Image Source: The Coity Cwtch via Facebook
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At this month’s full council meeting, Cllr. Martin Williams (Ind, Coity Higher) asked about Bridgend Council’s street trading policies.
In the last few months, the owner-operators of “Cake Sheds” in the Coity and Parc Derwen areas were visited by Shared Regulatory Service enforcement officers. The officers told them they needed to stop trading or obtain a street trading licence. One has since got the licence; the other has been left “confused and angry”.
Having looked into the council’s policies in more detail, Cllr. Williams found that “sale of articles by residential occupiers from within the curtilage of their properties” didn’t require the Council’s consent.
He discussed this further with officers, who said this only applied to things like table-top sales. Given that post-COVID, a lot of microbusinesses like these have popped up, Cllr. Williams said BCBC needed clearer rules.
Grey areas between “residential” and “business” activity
Council Leader, Cllr. John Spanswick (Lab, Brackla West Central), said this wasn’t a case of the Council going in “heavy-handed”, and it was in response to residents near the Cake Sheds who raised it with them.
Cllr. Spanswick was happy to look again at the rules, pointing out a distinction between residential activity (i.e. a car boot sale) and business activity.
Chief Executive, Jake Morgan, said this was an example which may or may not have been properly tested in law. He echoed Cllr. Spanswick by saying the best thing to do would be to look at the policy again.
