Section 25: Street trading, & c.
62.This section imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to make regulations to control trading in the vicinity of Games venues. These regulations are required in order to fulfil obligations imposed by the International Olympic Committee and made within the Host City Contract and in order to address issues of amenity and public safety (including avoiding congestion). The regulations will specify the nature and extent of restrictions including the place, time period and type of activity to which restrictions will apply. Regulations may apply during different periods in respect of different places. As is the case in relation to the advertising regulations under sections 19 to 24, much of the detail of the restrictions has been left to secondary legislation in order to make a proper assessment of what is required closer to 2012; the IOC may change the requirements which are placed on host cities and venues may also change.
63.Subsection (4) provides that the restrictions in the regulations may apply to trading on a highway, in a public place, and to trading on private land but not to trading within buildings (except car parks).
64.The regulations will allow the ODA to authorise trading within the vicinity of Olympic venues. The ODA will be able to delegate the function of granting authorisations. This ability to delegate is required as the ODA may rely on the expertise of local authorities that already license street trading in their areas. The regulations will also include provision about the circumstances in which such authorisations may or may not be granted. For example, the regulations may provide that the ODA is restricted to granting authorisations in relation to areas or types of trading already permitted by the relevant local authority. An authorisation may itself be subject to terms and conditions about the times of trading or steps to be taken to reduce congestion, litter or noise. Such terms and conditions may differ from, or be more onerous than, those of existing trading licences for the same area.
