Market Operators Licence

Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis, which at present is 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2027. The current fee for a 3 year licence from 1st July 2024 is £617 (voluntary /charity applications £205 per year).

Completing your application

How to apply

Apply Online

You can also download the forms here:

Market Operators Licence - application for new licence

Market Operators Licence - renewal

For a new grant application, a notice requires to be displayed on or near the premises (to allow passers-by to view) for 21 days. Once the notice has been displayed for this period, the certificate of compliance requires to be filled in accordingly and returned to the licensing office.

The information you have supplied on this form will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data.  A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:

• Privacy Notice - Civic Government Licenses

Applications must:

• contain the applicant's name and address,
• and those of any employee who will manage the activity on a day-to-day basis
• the area in which the activity is to be carried out
• include the application fee

Detailed information of what should be submitted is included in the following link:

Guidance Notes

Regulation Summary   
      
A summary of the regulation relating to this licence

Schedule of Conditions

Details of the Schedule of Conditions that relate to this licence.

Fees

£617 (voluntary /charity applications £205)

Contact details

Telephone: 01546 604128 or licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Argyll and Bute Council
Legal and Regulatory Support
Licensing Section
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RT

Eligibility Criteria

A Market Operator’s Licence is required to run a private market.  Private market means a market whether covered or not, carried out by any person at which goods are offered by more than one seller for sale by retail to the public.

A market operators licence is not required to carry out either of the following:-

1. Functions held by a charitable, religious, youth recreational, community, political or similar organisations;
2. Markets held only for the sale of livestock, fodder or grain.

The application process

We will:

• send a copy of the application to Police Scotland
• send a copy of the application to the area Environmental Health Officer
• place a notice on the local authority office notice board which states the applicant details contained in the application, that any objections or representations may be made to ourselves, and how they should be made
• keep a register of applications in which we will enter the receipt of the application, our final decision and reasons for the decision, the details of the terms of each licence granted and a note of any suspension, variation of the terms, or surrender, of a licence

The register must be available for inspection by any member of the public at reasonable times and places and any member of the public must be allowed to make a copy of it.  A fee will be required for this service.

Where we fail to make a decision within six months of the application, the licence is held to be granted or renewed.

Appeals

 If you have made an application for a licence and it has been refused

You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.

You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Appeals - Licence Holders

Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.

You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Objections or representations

Objections or representations relating to a licence application may be made in writing to the licensing section, within 28 days of notice of the licence application being given, stating:

• the grounds of the objection or nature of the representation
• the name and address of the person making the representation

Police Scotland, or anyone who has made a relevant objection or representation regarding the licence, may appeal against a decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as they have already followed any available procedure in terms of stating their case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner