New Conditions Imposed on Food Street Market

Licence granted with restrictions on amplified music

Entertainment at the market is often provided by local community groups. Picture: Instagram

July 28, 2026

Hounslow Council Licensing Panel has granted a new licence for Food St Market on Chiswick High Road, allowing live and recorded music and dance performances on the fourth Sunday of each month. The approval has come with a detailed set of conditions designed to prevent noise nuisance and give residents a clearer way to raise concerns with the organisers. The decision was made on 20 July by the council’s Licensing and General Purposes Sub-Committee after a hearing attended by the applicant, Street Food Ventures, and two objectors including Cllr Jo Biddolph.

Food St Market has operated for three years under Temporary Event Notices and a Temporary Street Trader’s Licence, offering occasional entertainment alongside its regular street-food stalls. The licence formalises those activities, permitting entertainment between 11am and 4pm on Sundays at the site between Devonshire Road and Linden Gardens in the car park in the centre of Chiswick. Although only two objections were received, both raised concerns about noise, enforcement and the clarity of the applicant’s proposed measures.

At the hearing, market director Richard Johnson explained that entertainment at the market typically involved a single busker with an acoustic guitar and a small amplifier, and that no noise complaints had been received through official channels. He said sound levels were monitored using a mobile app, with checks carried out around the perimeter. However, one resident told the panel that several complaints had been made directly to stallholders over the past three years, including during market set-up hours. Mr Johnson apologised, acknowledging that traders may not have passed complaints on because they were embarrassed or worried about losing their pitch.

The panel accepted that the market’s entertainment offer was modest compared with large-scale events such as Gunnersbury Park festivals, but concluded that enforceable conditions were necessary to prevent public nuisance. The licence therefore includes stricter requirements on noise control, management visibility, record-keeping and crowd safety. A designated event manager must be present throughout, supported by staff wearing high-visibility jackets so they can be easily identified. The licence prohibits subwoofers and bass-amplifying equipment, restricts amplified music to the licence holder rather than stallholders, and requires regular sound-level checks using a monitoring app, with logs kept for 12 months. A direct telephone number for the market manager must be displayed prominently for residents and businesses, and clear pedestrian and emergency access routes must be maintained at all times. The market must also operate within a maximum capacity of 500 people, and litter must be collected throughout the event and cleared after closure.

The panel noted Mr Johnson’s assurances that performers are usually solo musicians using small equipment, and that the performance area is simply a cordoned-off space rather than a stage. It also encouraged the operator to share details of upcoming performances with nearby residents and businesses, suggesting leaflets, community websites and social media as appropriate channels.

The council reminded the applicant that any breach of the licence conditions could lead to a review or even revocation of the licence. Anyone wishing to challenge the decision has 21 days from notification to appeal to the Magistrates’ Court.