Croydon's Licensing Committee is tasked with balancing support for local businesses with public safety and convenience when reviewing applications for street trading licences.
At a meeting on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, the committee, chaired by Councillor Patsy Cummings, considered applications for street designation orders at two locations: Allders Parade in North End, and the junction of Caithness Walk and Lansdowne Road in East Croydon. For both locations, the Licensing Committee was asked to determine whether to designate the sites for the purposes of street trading and, if designated, whether to grant a street trading licence to the site.
One application sought to designate an area outside 2-28 North End, Allders Parade, for the display of external seating, planters, plants and flowers. The applicant, Mr Steve Johnson, proposed trading hours from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 6pm on Sundays. The proposed display area measured 80 metres in length, 3 metres in width, and 2 metres in height. According to the Public Reports Pack, a temporary licence was already in place for this application, valid from 30 October 2025 and expiring on 30 June 2026.
The second application concerned the junction of Caithness Walk and Lansdowne Road, East Croydon, where Aminullah Gholam sought designation for a mobile vehicle/trailer measuring 3 metres in length and 2 metres in width. The applicant proposed to trade between 9am and 9pm, selling street food. However, the council's Spatial Planning/Highways Division objected to the application. Their concerns, detailed in the Public Reports Pack, highlighted that the introduction of a mobile unit would conflict with the objectives and design of the Dingwall Road Town Centre Priority Project, which aims to enhance connectivity to and from East Croydon Station. Works on Dingwall Road are due to commence imminently, with the roundabout/Lansdowne Road junction scheduled to begin early in the New Year. The council stated that the redesigned roundabout will substantially enhance the public realm at its four corners, creating a strategic stepping stone
between the East Croydon station bridge, Caithness Walk, the new Lansdowne Way crossing, and the shopping heart of North End via the Whitgift Centre.
Concerns were raised about a fundamental lack of space, conflict with the placement of new seating and flood alleviation features, encroachment on existing tree canopy, disruption to the openness and spatial quality of the new public realm, obstruction of key sightlines, and potential CCTV and security implications. The council noted a fundamental lack of space in the pending new layout and potential conflict with thoroughfare and accessibility.
The Public Reports Pack noted that consultations were carried out with the police, planning, highways, parking services, and food & safety team, and the applications were advertised in the Croydon Guardian. No comments or objections were received for the Allders Parade application, and no comments were received within 28 days of the advertisement for the Caithness Walk and Lansdowne Road application.
