Council compromise in 'no permit, no pies' pub row

The council had said all temporary food stalls had to hold a licence to continue

A compromise arrangement has been announced following a demand by the city council that food vendors must be licenced to continue to work from pub car parks in Derby.

A number of premises had complained the authority had intervened after years of the stalls trading without issues.

Businesses said the sudden change could seriously impact both the vendors and the pubs which hosted them.

Now the council - which had said it was simply following national rules - says all food stalls can continue to trade and apply for the correct permits retrospectively.

Matthew Willers, Owner of Little Brewing Company, gave the move a qualified welcome

The council had said its existing licensing policy had been reviewed and approved at a meeting in September 2024 and "the onus is on landowners or traders to proactively engage with the licensing authority before operating".

After several businesses spoke out about the issues they faced, a spokesperson for the authority said: "Whilst our teams have acted in line with national guidelines and our adopted policy, it is never our intention to obstruct local businesses from operating and understand that some traders may not have been aware that consent is required to operate in pub car parks and on forecourts.

"We have therefore made the decision to allow traders to continue operating and apply for the correct consent retrospectively."

Officials described this as a "one-off grace period" and said other vendors had obtained the correct consent since 2024.

Street trading consent currently costs £586 per year with applications subject to a 28-day review period.

Matthew Willers, owns the Little Brewing Company in Darley Abbey, which has a tap room with parking outside.

He said: "While I am glad that the council has taken the swift approach and introduced a period of grace that allows traders to decide whether to apply or not while still trading, I feel there is a longer term challenge in that the licencing committee should look to reduce the price of this consent."