If you want to sketch or paint and sell your work on the streets of Bath and North East Somerset, you need to apply for mobile street artist consent.
Before you apply
You need to read and understand the requirements set out on this page before you submit an application for mobile street artist consent. We cannot proceed with your application unless you give us all the information we need.
You must ensure that you have read and agree to our Street Trading Policy and the special conditions set out in the topic below:
Mobile street artist terms and conditions
- A mobile street artist is defined as a person who only sketches/paints and only sells his/her own art work.
- A mobile street artist has no fixed location but with local authority consent moves from location to location and shall not occupy one location for more than 3 hours and shall not return to that location or within 50 metres of it the same day.
- The artist shall not obstruct the highway nor shall his/her artistic work lead to the highway being obstructed by people gathering to watch the artist at work.
- The artist shall not make use of the street furniture e.g. public seats, lamp posts, railings, walls, pavements etc.
- No mobile street artist shall occupy a place within 50 metres of any other mobile street artist or within 50 metres of any other authorised street trading pitch which deals in art or craft work.
- The area occupied by the artist shall not exceed 1.5 m x 1.5 m.
- Each consent shall be issued to a single person and is not transferable to another under any circumstances.
- The permitted trading days and hours will be stipulated on the consent. Consents will only be issued for trading between the hours of 09:00 and 18:00.
- The artist shall immediately stop his/her activities in that place when requested to do so by a Police Constable or a Council Officer.
Supporting documentation
You need to send us a recent photograph of yourself for us to use on your ID badge.
Fees and prices
Prices and fees for mobile street artist consent are shown in the table below:
| Fees | Price |
|---|---|
| New application fee (payable at time of application) | £75 |
| Renewal application fee (payable at time of renewal) | £37 |
| Badge fee | £12.50 per badge |
Consent duration
We will usually grant mobile street artist's consent for a period from one day to a maximum of 6 months for one of the following periods:
- 1 April to 30 September
- 1 October to 31 March
How to apply
When you are sure you are able to provide all the information we require, you can submit an application using our online form:
Apply for mobile street artist consent
Further information
Select a topic below to find out more about mobile street artist consent:
Once we receive your application, we will check that you have completed everything correctly. If you have, we will issue your mobile street artist consent.
You must submit your application at least 48 hours before your requested start date. Any applications made later than this may not be processed and you will not be permitted to begin trading on your requested day.
We aim to process your application within 48 hours of your submission.
To appeal against a decision, you will need to contact Licensing Services by email at: licensing@bathnes.gov.uk
Schedule 4 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982
We have made the information on these web pages as comprehensive as possible. However, in attempting to simplify the law, certain requirements have been omitted. Full details of what you must do are in the relevant legislation.
Laws can and do change. We must advise that only the Courts can give an authoritative opinion on statute law.
If you think a mobile street artist is failing to comply with their conditions and you want to make a complaint, please complete our online form
We have a legal duty to protect the public funds we administer. As a result, we may use the information you have provided on your application form within this authority for the prevention and detection of fraud.
We may also share this information with other bodies administering or in receipt of public funds solely for these purposes.
For further information, please visit our National Fraud Initiative page or contact the Information and Governance Team by email at information_governance@bathnes.gov.uk