Market and street trading

We don’t give street trading consent for anyone to trade in the town centre. When an opportunity becomes available we will advertise it.

If you plan to trade within 50 metres (as the crow flies) of a public road (including footpaths and on private or public land) you must have street trading consent from the council.

If you want to trade on a private forecourt you should get permission from the landowner. You can contact the licensing team for informal advice about your plans to trade.

Please ensure that you read our Street Trading Policy before making an application.

Please contact licensing@reading.gov.uk to apply. Street trading conditions.

Sandwich rounds and other mobile food traders have to keep to special conditions but should complete the same street trading application form.

You must apply for a Basic Disclosure Certificate and submit this with your application. This certificate must be dated within 1 calendar month prior to application.

If you would like to apply please complete a Street Trading application form and submit to licensing@reading.gov.uk.

Fees

Street trading in town centre – £6,129 (£500 deposit on application)

Street trading outside town centre – £2421 (£500 deposit on application)

Ice cream vans and sandwich rounds – £901

All potential applicants should contact the licensing team before applying for informal advice on whether the proposed site is appropriate.

Reading Borough Council Act gives us authority to manage street trading activities and deal with illegal trading/touting.

Occasional street trading

If you intend to trade for less than 60 days a year (including Reading Festival), either as an individual or market style trading, you will need to have street trading consent. Before completing the online application form, the applicant will need to obtain a basic DBS certificate; it can take up to  14 days for you to receive your certificate. Refer to the accompanying guidance notes and street trading conditions before starting your application.

Apply for occasional street trading consent

The application form has an option for existing market style applicants to add information of new stall holders that wish to start selling as part of the market. This form is not to extend your maximum amount of traders per day.

Fees for stalls in the town centre (inside the IDR)

• up to 3x3m stalls trading for 1 to 15 days a year – £14 per stall, per day
• up to 3x3m stalls trading for 16 to 60 days a year – £4 per stall, per day
• up to 3x6m stalls trading for 1 to 15 days a year – £17 per stall, per day
• up to 3x6m stalls trading for 16 to 60 days a year – £6 per stall, per day

Fees for stalls out of the town centre (outside the IDR)

• up to 3x3m selling alcohol for 1 to 8 days a year – £129 per stall, per day
• up to 3x3m not selling alcohol for 1 to 8 days a year – £98 per stall, per day
• over 3x3m and under 3x6m, selling alcohol for 1 to 8 days a year – £206 per stall, per day
• over 3x3m and under 3x6m, not selling alcohol for 1 to 8 days a year – £144 per stall, per day
• 9 to 14 days – £26 per stall, per day
• 15 to 45 days – £15 per stall, per day
• 46 to 60 days – £8 per stall, per day

If your stall/trailer has any dimension greater than 6m or has dimensions over 3m x 6m, please contact the licensing team (licensing@reading.gov.uk) to discuss.

Variations

If you would like to vary your street trading consent, please e-mail licensing@reading.gov.uk to discuss your proposal. To apply for a variation, please e-mail licensing@reading.gov.uk explaining, in detail, what the proposed changes to your current consent are. The fee to vary your consent is £267.

Adding additional assistants

All staff working on your stall/unit must be on your consent. If you would like to add additional staff, please complete pages 7 & 8 of the Street Trading application form for each additional worker and pay £16 per person. Submit the application form to licensing@reading.gov.uk and you will be sent payment instructions’

Direct Debit payments

Any street trading fee under £500 must be paid in full on application. Any fee greater than this may either be paid in full, or by a £500 deposit on application with the remaining amount paid by direct debit spread across 10 equal monthly payments, starting with the month after the consent is granted. The fee for paying via direct debit is £54.

Reading Festival

If you want to trade over the Reading Festival weekend (August Bank Holiday) you must apply before the second week in June using the occasional street trading consent application form.

If you want to sell alcohol you must ensure everyone working on your stall/van holds a personal licence.

Consultation period

Applications for street trading consent or occasional street trading consent will undergo a 28 day consultation period.

Pedlar’s Certificate

Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 Pedlars Act 1871

If you hold a valid Pedlar’s Certificate, you must ensure that you comply with the following:

You must not stop moving other than to serve a customer. Failure to keep moving means you will be street trading illegally and liable to prosecution or a fixed penalty notice of £75.
All articles used for trading must either be carried on your person or in a wheeled trolley which at no point exceeds 0.88 x 0.83 x 1.63 metres in height including the articles displayed.

Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police are taking active steps to ensure that all persons selling goods on the public highway do so within the law. This includes RBC parks, tow paths or any street or private area where the public have free and open access.

Activities of Pedlars will be monitored and formal action will be taken against persons found to be acting outside of the law. This may include a fixed penalty notice of £75 or prosecution.

If you want to apply for a Pedlar’s Certificate apply on the GOV.UK website.

Reading Borough Council Act 2013

The Reading Borough Council Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 28 February 2013. The stated purpose of the Act is for better control of street trading and touting in Reading. The Act amends the definition of ‘street trading’ in the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, so that it includes purchasing or offering to purchase tickets for gain or rewards, as well as selling or offering to sell any item. “Ticket’ is defined as including anything required to gain entry to an entertainment or sporting event (such as wristbands, passes, etc). It is therefore now an offence to sell or purchase, or offer to sell or purchase, tickets or similar items in a street (which includes any road, footway or other area to which the public have access without payment). 

Information on the Reading Borough Council Act 2013 detailing the Act and the designated areas.

Hosier Street Market

The Hosier Street Market is not maintained by Reading Borough Council. If you would like to trade on the Hosier Street Market, please contact hello@bluecollarreading.co.uk

Current street trading applications

Applicant	Premises	Application type	Closing date for representation
Mr Tekin Altan	The Coffee Van, The Courtyard, Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading	Renewal of Street Trader Consent on the following days and times: Monday to Sunday from 0600hrs to 2300hrs	01/09/2024