Mobile shop licences could hit rural areas hard

Sep 9 2010 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

PLANS to introduce licences for travelling shops could leave vulnerable people in rural areas without vital services, campaigners say.

Northumberland County Council is proposing a new policy where any person wanting to trade on any street in the county will have to buy a licence from the authority.

But the proposals, which are currently out to consultation, have been heavily criticised by parish councils and community organisations in rural areas of the county, where mobile stores are heavily relied upon.

Jon Radgick, chairman of Glanton Parish Council, says his village is regularly visited by a mobile butcher, baker and fishmonger, most of whom stop at several locations in the community.

He said the mobile traders are a “godsend” to people without cars, such as the elderly and parents of young children, as they save them having to take the bus to the nearest shops.

He fears the hassle and cost of having to obtain a licence will mean the traders either decide it is not worth coming to Glanton, or that they will put their prices up.