City council to enforce street trading laws. New measures target illegal pavement displays.
Current rules ban selling goods on pavements. The council is responsible for enforcing these rules. Currently, they have few resources due to the pandemic. The new plan involves a more aggressive rule enforcement.
First, officers will ask vendors to remove items by day’s end. If they don’t, a notice gets issued, demanding removal within seven days. The council might seize and store the goods after that, with the owner paying the costs.
If vendors still fail to comply, the council will seize goods. They will wrap, photograph, and store everything. The vendor will receive a detailed list of items. The vendor has 28 days to retrieve their goods; otherwise, the council will destroy them.
If goods are reclaimed, a warning follows. Selling those items again leads to confiscation, and the items will not be returned then. The case goes to the Procurator Fiscal, and a fine of £1000 could be issued.
The council acknowledges potential retailer disapproval, as many are accustomed to pavement displays. The plan also proposes rule changes for legal street vending, covering display locations and appearance. Currently, licensed traders can sell goods on pavements.
This also applies to some private market sellers too. Councillors will decide on the report this Thursday, when the Transport and Environment committee will meet.