In June 2023 the Council decided to carry out a full review of all street trading in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Following this, a draft policy has been designed to provide a clear, consistent service for everyone, by balancing the needs of street traders with those of residents, workers, shoppers, visitors and other people using the space.   

The draft policy sets out the Council’s approach to:  

• street trading licenses  
• pavement and forecourt trading licenses  
• trading from mobile ice cream vans 

The proposed policy aims to simplify the process of getting a street trading licence. It does so by formally setting out the locations where licensed street trading is allowed as well as introducing a more flexible approach for trading in places across the borough which do not have designated locations.  

Councillor Mariam Lolavar, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, Business and Skills said: “Street trading has always been an important part of daily life in Royal Greenwich.  

“It helps to provide valuable employment opportunities for local people, to create a lively, vibrant atmosphere across our town centres and offers a place where our residents can conveniently pick up food and other items they need. We want to continue to support this, while ensuring it is well-managed and we fulfil our commitment to create a cleaner, greener Royal Greenwich. 

“I believe that these new plans will help us to foster a good relationships between street traders, residents and other businesses. A lot of consideration has gone into developing this new policy and we look forward to hearing your views about the proposals”. 

The policy enables the Council to:  

• Take leadership in supporting and promoting economic activity in the borough
• Demonstrate transparency and integrity when dealing with street trading matters 
• Ensure that there is consistency when making decisions; providing equal chance of fair trade to all residents and businesses
• Deliver high quality services by responding to changing needs through constant evolution and innovation
• Introduce operating efficiency in carrying out the council’s duties

Share your views by Friday 25 August at 11:59pm. All comments submitted by this date will be considered and will inform discussions before the new policy is finalised in the autumn. 

View the draft policy and have your say 

Traders who are interested in applying for a street trader’s licence can do so here.