The Local Government Miscellaneous (Provisions) Act 1982 gives the Local Authority the powers to resolve to implement Schedule 4 of the Act in order to control street trading within its boundaries and as a consequence can designate any street in the Borough as either a:  

i) Prohibited Street – means a street where trading is prohibited except for the statutory exemptions e.g. a newsvendor stand, pedlars, delivery roundsman. 

ii) Consent Street – means a street where trading is prohibited without the consent of the Council, who may give consent to trade if it so wishes but it is under no obligation to do so. 

iii) Licensed Street – Milton Keynes City Council has not designated any Licensed Streets. 

The Council is empowered to charge reasonable fees. The fee structure is payable in two phases, the initial application fee and when the consultation finishes; a remaining fee is then due to be paid to finally grant the Street Trading Consent Permit. The grant fee is based on how many hours are applied for. A fee table is provided in the application forms. 

For more information on regulations, please see the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. 

If you wish to trade on or within 60 metres of a Consent Street, you may apply to get a permit to do so, regardless of if the land is privately owned.  

Any other street in Milton Keynes (not on or within 60 metres of a consent or prohibited street), will not be regulated under Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. However, you must ensure that you have the permission of the land owner. 

Before you go to the expense of submitting an application, you are strongly advised to speak to the various bodies that the Licensing Team consult on any application received. This is because you may not get your application fee back if the application is refused and it would be worthwhile finding out if objections are likely to be received before you apply.  

The main bodies that are consulted on applications are:  
a) The local Town / Parish Council in whose area you are planning to trade.  
b) Environmental Health  
c) Thames Valley Police
d) Highways (where you are trading on the road / road side)
e) The Council service who manages the land concerned (where you believe you are seeking to trade on Council land).  
f) Estates for car parks / community halls / shops where they are nearby to your proposed trading location.
g) The Milton Keynes Councillor for the area concerned.  
h) The landowner  where you are on private land.  
i) In addition, you should also consider if your trading location is likely to cause a traffic / road safety issue as this will be taken as a relevant factor on any application. 

All applications will be subject to a 28 day consultation process, starting the day after a valid application and fee are received, during which other Responsible Authorities will be consulted.  

New applicants can apply to trade for up to three hours per day only, then once trading for at least 21 days, may apply for a variation to increase trading hours. If you wish to trade after 11pm you will also require a premises licence.  

Consent permits may be issued for up to one year only, so traders wishing to continuously trade will have to submit a renewal application yearly.  

There is no right to appeal if your application is rejected. 

Before the street trading permit expires, a year after being granted, a renewal application will need to be submitted in order to continue trading. We send out reminders to street traders 2 months prior to the expiry of their consent, the renewal application will need to be submitted at least 31 days prior to the expiry of the existing consent to allow time to apply and send us the appropriate documents, and to allow for the 28 day consultation period that will follow application, as with a new application. No application to renew a consent will be determined until the appropriate fees have been paid. The applicant is not permitted to engage in street trading once the previous consent has expired. The grant fee is due within 2 working days once the application's renewal process has concluded. Failure to pay the grant fee may result in temporary suspension of the consent until the grant fee is paid.

Waste generated from a business must be disposed of correctly. We would expect street traders to hold a commercial waste contract or an appropriate, similar provision. Please see our page on Waste collections from business premises.  

Street Trading controls do not apply to a pedlar with a valid pedlar’s certificate issued under the Pedlars Act 1871. A pedlar is a person who travels and trades on foot and goes from town to town or to others houses, carrying or selling or exposing for sale any goods, wares, merchandise immediately to be delivered or selling or offering their skill in handicraft. Pedlars certificates are obtained from the Police. You can find out more by reading our Pedlars Leaflet.