Events Trader Information

St Albans District Council delivers large-scale events every year in St Albans City Centre, typically attracting in the region of 10,000 visitors or more.

This year the events will operate from 11:00 – 17:00 and will comprise

• A market with roughly 100 traders
• One or more music stages
• Street entertainers
• Crafts, games and other activities for children

This year we will be delivering two outdoor street events:

• St Albans Spring Festival on Sunday 18th May from 11:00–17:00
• St Albans Christmas Cracker on Sunday 16th November from 11:00–17:00

St Albans Spring festival is a new event for this year. The event will be a celebration of food, well-being, community spirit and sustainability with activities and entertainment for all. The event will include many of the popular elements of our street festivals such as the fantastic array of street food, stage entertainment and arts and crafts - along with fresh opportunities for the whole community to learn, play and create with spring-inspired activities.

St Albans Christmas Cracker is family-friendly event designed to begin the festive shopping season in style. We welcome applications to trade from makers, crafters and small-scale manufacturers of gifts, toys, decorations and homewares. Usually a larger road closure than for the other two events, which will include Chequer Street, where a funfair usually operates.

Key dates:

A single pitch is 3×3m². You must apply for as many pitches as you will need to accommodate the following:

• Equipment
• All stock
• Any generators
• Any barbecues or grills
• Tow bars
• Space required to open trailer doors
• All staff

Please ensure you choose a big enough trading space for your needs. If you stray out of the boundary of your pitch you will be taking up space booked by another trader and may be asked to leave.

Trading Fees

Fees are charged according to which of three categories your goods fit into. If you are unsure which category your goods fall into, please contact the Events Team to discuss. If you sell products that fall into two categories, you will be charged the higher of the two prices. The Events Team will have the final say on which fee you will be charged.

Priority pitches

For traders who would like to choose the area of the event in which their pitch is located there is an additional £60 priority booking fee.

Traders who have chosen to pay for priority pitches will be allocated first and any remaining pitches will be allocated to traders who have chosen not to pay for priority pitches.

Discounts

Traders whose businesses are registered within St Albans District, as well as regular traders on our weekly Wednesday and Saturday markets and our monthly Second Sunday market will be eligible for a 15% discount.

Single pitches of 3×3m² are available for charities as well as community and other non-profit organisations and will be allocated at the discretion of the event organisers.

By applying to trade at a street event, you are agreeing to adhere to this Policy.

IMPORTANT: Please ensure you also refer to the St Albans City and District Council Market Rules document linked below. 

Please note that:

Part One rules will be applied to all event markets.

The rules in Part Two which apply to allocations and fees are replaced by this event-specific policy, see Events Trader Information

Traders should take particular note of the rules in Section 14 of the Market Rules – Conduct of Traders.

Please refer to the Events Trader Information Page on the Council’s website for further information on pricing, food hygiene information, guidance on writing risk assessments, generator policy and waste and recycling policy (sustainability policy to follow).

Definitions used in this document:

The application process

All potential traders must complete the application form and provide the trader documentation listed at Point 3 of this Policy.

By applying to trade at an event, you are agreeing to adhere to this Policy.

Businesses, charities and community groups can book for all events by filling in the online form once, providing your set-up and product is going to be identical for each event. If you require a different sized pitch or are selling different goods for each event, please complete a different application for each event, ticking only one event box per application. In either case you only need to submit your supporting documents once.

The cut-off dates for applications and up-to-date prices for each event are listed on the event trader page of the Council’s website.

If you submit your application after the closing date, it will not be considered or processed.

Trader selection

We typically receive many more applications than we have space for. Decisions regarding the allocations of pitches will be carried out in line with this Policy. We reserve the right to make the final decision on allocation of pitches.

When determining the application to trade, we will consider some, or all of the following, not necessarily in this order:

The look and feel of the event 

For example:

Spring Festival – emphasis on food. Actively seeking traders in the gift food space, such as ambient food for consumption at home. Strong emphasis on eclectic, quirky, interesting, ‘artisanal’ foods, both hot and cold. 

Christmas Cracker: Preference for ‘gift’ and non-food traders. Any demonstrably ‘Festive’ offering is welcome. Some food and drink traders where they provide hot food, hot drinks, mulled wine.

The commodity mix. To ensure traders’ and visitors’ interests are well served, we will aim to ensure a reasonable mix of commodities, with no one type of stall over-represented.

Innovation and additionality. We would like to create opportunities for new traders and also encouragetraders who offer visitors additional experiences.

Loyalty. We value long-term traders and want to reward loyalty, so are likely (but not bound to) look favourably on your application if you have traded at previous events or trade regularly on St Albans Charter Market.

Where traders’ businesses are registered. We think it’s important, where possible, to support local traders – i.e. those registered within St Albans District.

Sustainability. We aim to support business that are sustainable and eco-friendly. We support traders who use minimal packaging and offer ethical/sustainable options.

Diversity and Inclusion. We appreciate traders who give consideration to making their pitch accessible and welcoming to a diverse audience.

We will inform successful traders they have been allocated a pitch six weeks prior to the event and will issue a reminder of the trading terms and conditions and policies as part of that correspondence.

Trader documentation

You are required to provide the following documentation in order to be able to trade at the events:

Evidence of Public Liability Insurance for £5m

A photograph of your structure/stall or vehicle at a similar event

Evidence of Employers Liability Insurance (where applicable)

Food hygiene certification (where applicable)

Personal Licence (where applicable)

Brief Risk Assessment

Applications will not be considered complete until you have provided the above.

Pitch locations

The allocation of Pitches will be at our discretion and are final. However, we reserve the right to make changes to the location of trader pitches on the day of the event as circumstances dictate.

Payment terms

Cleared funds must be in our accounts three weeks ahead of the event.

Two attempts will be made to contact you to chase payment, after which the Pitch will be reallocated.

Cancellation policy

Traders who cancel giving less than two weeks’ notice before the event will be ineligible for refunds.

Trader no-shows will not be eligible for refunds.

We may have to cancel an event in exceptional circumstances. In the event this happens prior to the event day, a full refund, or the chance to move your booking to a future event will be offered.

If the event is cancelled while it is taking place, you must vacate your Pitch as soon as possible. If you continue to trade after we have instructed you to leave, we may impose a permanent ban preventing you from trading at the markets and events again. You should note that Trader insurance is generally invalid if the market is closed. A partial refund on your pitch fee will be considered, taking into account the timing of the cancellation and the reasons for the cancellation.

Weather

Events will usually go ahead if it rains.

Market closure in advance due to weather warning: If the Met Office issues an advance weather warning, we will consider closing the event. If a weather warning is issued by the Met Office where speeds or gusts of wind are predicted to reach 35mph or above, the event will be cancelled and traders notified by email

Weather change on the day (e.g., same day weather warning, flooding, heavy snow): If we cancel the event on the day of the event a partial refund will be considered – please above.

You are responsible for carrying out an assessment of the risks of trading in all weathers, in line with the needs of your insurance policy

Power and generators

You may bring your own silent generator, but it MUST be compliant with our generator policy (see link, below) and it must be cordoned off using barriers that will be available on the day.  

Strict adherence to the Policy will be enforced. Traders who do not adhere to the policy or have a non-compliant generator will be instructed to turn off the generator and may be asked to cease trading. Traders not adhering to the policy will not have their pitch fee refunded and may not be allocated trading space at future events

There will be a limited number of pitches available with access to power either from SADC/Markets supply or from a shared generator. There will be a cost associated with this, which will be advertised on the event trader page of the Council’s website.

Alcohol

Alcohol can be sold for consumption by customers on-site and sold for consumption as an off sale. All traders serving alcohol must state whether they intend to sell alcohol as an on or off sale on the application form. If you intend to sell alcohol you will need to hold a personal licence and provide a copy of that licence to prove that you understand the law surrounding alcohol sales. You will be required to sign a declaration in the application form.

Health & Safety

Structures supplied by traders must meet the expected standards of safety.

All Gazebos and pop-ups must be weighted, regardless of the weather. It is your responsibility to ensure they have enough weights to make all your equipment safe and compliant with your Public Liability Insurance (weights will not be available on the day).

Any traders using a barbecuemust provide a fire extinguisher and/or fire blanket. The barbecue will need to be cordoned off for public safety. Barriers will be available to borrow on the day of the event.

Traders are responsible for the health and safety of themselves and their staff on site and should provide accident and incident report forms to the event coordinator should accidents or incidents occur on site. Please ask staff for a report form should you require one.

Waste and Sustainability

We take sustainability seriously. Please refer to our policy here: https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/sustainability-council-run-markets-and-events

Conduct of Traders

You are required to comply with the conduct provisions set out at section 14 of the Market Traders Rules found on the event trader page of the Council’s website.

Event day logistics

Rules for the event day including event access and set up, site plan, arrival times, parking and all logistics, will be sent to you via e-mail one week before the event. These may differ for each event, so please check these carefully each time. You will be expected to adhere to these.

Compliance with this Policy

You must comply with this Policy and with all our instructions on Event days.

If you do not comply with this Policy, we may suspend you from trading and pitch fees will not be refunded in those circumstances.

Communications

Please refer regularly to the website at Events trader information where all our policies will be linked. We will post updates as necessary and provide a timeline for applicants to let them know when they can expect to hear from us and provide any updates as necessary. We’ll also post some FAQs – do please check there to see if your question has been answered before getting in touch.

If you need to get in touch, please do so by email at festivaltraders@stalbans.gov.uk

Amendments to the rules

We will review and reissue Street Event Trading Policy every three years or sooner if we consider it necessary. We may add to, or otherwise amend the Policy, in the light of changing circumstances, or for any other reason, and we will advise you in writing of any changes.

Procedure for exclusion from trading

If you fail to adhere to trading rules or instructions given by us, we will issue a verbal warning for the first instance. For a second incident we will issue a written warning. Any further failure will result in a permanent ban from trading on any St Albans City and District Council events and markets.

If we consider the first failure to adhere is serious, we will issue a permanent ban from trading on any St Albans City and District Council events and markets immediately. Serious failures to adhere could include verbal or physical abuse towards public, other Traders, or the Markets or Events team.

We will issue all second warnings and permanent bans in writing, and they will be effective immediately.

Complaints

If you wish to complain about this Street Event Trader Policy or our enforcement of the rules, you can make a complaint in writing to festivaltraders@stalbans.gov.uk. 

If you are not happy with our resolution of your complaint, you can make a Corporate Complaint to our Complaints Team, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3JE, or to make a complaint online, see Complaints and Compliments.

• Market rules and Code of Conduct

If you would like to support one of our street festivals with sponsorship, we welcome approaches from local and national organisations. A presence at one or more of our events could enhance an organisation's visibility in the District demonstrate their alignment with the Council's commitment to community. Please contact events@stalbans.gov.uk to discuss this further.