07 Mar 2024
The row over fee increases for street traders in St Albans city centre reached the council chamber last week ahead of a final decision on the plans.
Under plans announced by SADC, mobile outlets could soon see their annual fees skyrocket from a few hundred pounds to well over £5,000 depending how many days a week they trade.
Currently, they pay an annual fee of £552, discounted to £419 on renewal. The pitch fees proposed for the additional markets are £15 a day on Monday and Tuesday and £30 on Thursday and Friday.
There is an additional fee of £35 for Sundays when other markets are not taking place. SADC will also charge extra for double pitches, so some traders could pay approximately £13,000 per year.
At last week’s Full Council meeting, St Peter’s ward Green councillor Simon Grover asked a formal question about the proposals.
He said: “The new markets policy proposes changing street traders to market traders. As a result, some traders face fees 20 or 30 times higher than they are currently paying.
“How can the council justify this, and what steps will it take to enable these traders to continue operating without putting themselves out of business?”
Cllr Paul de Kort responded: “The council is consulting the six traders, who currently trade as street traders on St Peter’s Street, on non-traditional market days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and some Sundays).
“The aim of the changes is to move to one model of trading in St Peter’s Street with a view to opening up the trading days for the benefit of residents, and visitors.
“The existing offer means we have a limited number of street traders licensed to trade on days other than the Wednesday and Saturday (Charter Market days).
“We have a considerable waiting list of traders who would like to trade on the other days of the week but are prevented from doing so because of the limitations on street trading consents that the council can authorise. ”The move to a single model would see the council operate St Peter’s Street trading on one single set of terms, for all traders, no matter which day of the week they trade.
“The street trader system allows for the payment of one annual fee irrespective of the number of non-traditional market days traded.
“Charging in this way doesn’t provide for a consistent offer for residents and visitors as there is no way of knowing which days traders will be present in St Peter’s Street.
“The move to the market fee structure, would see each trader paying a fee for each day that they trade, and the markets team will be able to coordinate the offer with greater certainty.”
Simon was unhappy with this response, and told the St Albans Times: “The written answer I received was not satisfactory, as it merely repeated the plan for what the council wants to do.
“In my supplementary question I asked the Lib Dem lead councillor to have another go at explaining what steps the council would take to enable current traders to continue operating without putting themselves out of business. Again, his reply did not include an answer to that, which I take to mean they are not going to take any steps. The lead councillor concluded by remarking “’I am a big fan of free markets and competition’, which I take to mean he is quite happy for the traders to go out of business if it means someone else pays the council more money to trade.
“This council seems to have forgotten that these are local businesses run by local people who support the local economy and are a much valued feature of our high street. It is part of the council’s job to do what it can to promote and support local businesses, not put them out of business. Ironically, the council have also announce plans to help local businesses bid for council contracts. It seems the left hand doesn’t know – or care – what the right hand is doing.”
