Agenda item

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It was reported that there had been seven registrations to speak and one written representation for Agenda item 7 Street Trading Policy update. The written representation had been submitted by Make it York (MiY) and had been published as a supplement to the published report for the item.

Margaret Rush explained that she and her husband were Directors of Graham’s Ices and she thanked everyone involved in the work of street trading and she welcomed the formation of the working group. She noted concern regarding Cllr Kilbane as a member of the Board if MiY. She noted a number of safety issues with the Christmas Market. She noted problems with option 2 in the published report and added that the preference of the Street Trading Association was for option 1, adding that no changes should be made until the consultation had finished.

Dan Zoccolan noted that he had run a street trading business for over 30 years. He noted that the St Sampson’s Square and Parliament Street information was misleading. He explained that his pitch in St Sampson’s Square was impacted by big structures like the carousel. He asked the committee to choose option 1 to provide security for jobs and families.

As a street trading consent holder Andrea Piette asked the committee to vote for option 1 and explained her concerns regarding option 2. She noted that street traders had regular customers and she explained how essential the location of their pitches were. She added that street traders were regularly displaced for other period other than the Christmas Market and that street traders should be able to trade on their pitches all year round.

Rob Collins expressed disappointment that the quality and professionalism of street traders was not included in the report. He noted that if the committee voted for option 2, they would not be able to go back on it. He added that if option 2 was chosen, he may have to relocate to another pitch near diesel generators and that option 2 allowed for street traders to be moved anywhere. He noted that option 1 was the only fair option.

Ian Burgess noted that he made candles and had a pitch in Kings Square. He explained that the Christmas period paid for January, February and March. He noted that option 1 brought stability and option 2 gave MiY a blank sheet of paper to do whatever they wanted. He asked who made the decision who about who moved where and how much they will pay.

Hannah Sherwood, wife of Tom Jackson and owner of Jacksons of York stated that the principle of integrity must apply. She explained that the MiY sample size of the survey on the Christmas Market was not representative. She noted that option 2 put profits over people. She added that street traders had a petition on backing local traders with over 2000 signature and that street traders were experiencing unacceptable anxiety. She noted that the committee must choose option 1 and she saw no evidence that relocating street traders affected access. She thought that there was a veiled power grab by MiY.

Tom Jackson made a number of comments on option 2 and noted that option 1 provided stability and viability for businesses and implementation of that option allowed MiY to plan with confidence. He noted that 2 would move businesses to a quiet side of York which would be disastrous. He explained the impact of option 2 on employees. He added that his mortgage relied on trade and asked the committee to support option 1.