Brazier battles illegal street traders goes on
19th July 2010
Source: Your Canterbury
After a two and a half year fight MP Julian Brazier has passed a bill through the Commons dealing with Canterbury’s illegal street traders, writes Jenny Armstrong.
Last week Julian Brazier led a debate on the bill which, when passed into law, will allow Canterbury council to stop unlicensed vendors hawking their wares unpunished.
During the debate Mr Brazier said: “Canterbury’s problem is that we are the third or fourth most visited city in the country but we have narrow mediaeval-width streets in parts of the centre.
“We have a particular problem with large numbers of illegal street traders who operate alongside street traders who have paid £800 each for their licences, with the former frequently causing an obstruction to the public.
“The bill’s provisions will allow Canterbury council to tackle the problem not of pedlars peddling but of pedlars acting illegally as street traders.”
The bill now only needs to pass through the House of Lords to become law. It will close a loophole which previously allowed pedlars to set themselves up as street traders without facing any penalties.
If the new bill is passed council officers, community support officers and the police will be able to confiscate any equipment used by unlicensed traders and hand out fines to those selling goods illegally.
During the debate there was discussion on whether the Bill unfairly regulates a struggling group of businessmen and dampens entrepreneurial zeal.
But Mr Brazier countered the argument by explaining the pertinence of protecting the finite number of traders’ pitches on an overcrowded high street which other people had already paid for.
After the debate Mr Brazier said: “The Canterbury Council Bill has been a personal campaign of mine for some time in the Commons chamber.
“Canterbury council has been determined to deal with illegal street trading which blights Canterbury’s high street, so it was a tremendous relief to get the bill finally voted through the House.
“This has been a long, hard slog. It took more than two and a half years, no fewer than four second readings and yet another three hours of debate before we carried the day. Let us hope the House of Lords passes the bill more quickly than the Commons.”
