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Scrap Metal Sites and Collectors

The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 replaced the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and the Motor Salvage Operators Regulation 2002 from 1st October 2013.

Every scrap metal dealer must have a licence issued by us as operating without one will be a criminal offence.

There are two types of licences:

Site Licence
This is where the scrap metal business is operated from one or more sites in the local authority area. The licence allows the licensee to buy and sell scrap metal and to transport scrap metal to and from those sites from any local authority area.

Collector's Licence
This is where the scrap metal operator collects scrap metal in the local authority area. A separate licence must be obtained from each council the collector wishes to operate in.

A scrap metal dealer is only permitted to hold one type of licence in any one local authority area.

When operating as a scrap metal dealer:

  • You must not receive scrap metal from a person without verifying their name and address
  • You must not buy scrap metal for cash.
  • A site licence must be displayed in a prominent place, accessible to the public, at each site identified in the licence.
  • A mobile collector’s licence must be displayed on any vehicle that is being used in the course of the business and can be easily read by a person outside the vehicle.
  • You must keep a record of all scrap metal you receive including:
    • a description including type, form, condition, weight, any marks identifying previous owners or distinguishing features
    • the date and time
    • the registration mark of the vehicle it was delivered in or on
    • the full name and address of the person received from
    • the full name of the person who makes the payment acting for the dealer
  • You must keep a record of all scrap metal you dispose of including:
    • a description including type, form and weight (site licence holders only)
    • the date and time
    • the full name and address of the person disposed to
    • if payment is made (by sale or exchange), the price of other consideration received (site licence holders only)
  • You must keep your records for 3 years and allow the council or police to inspect your premises and records if asked.

Under the Act we must not issue a licence unless we are satisfied that the applicant is a suitable person to carry on business as a scrap metal dealer. In the case of a partnership this means assessing the suitability of each of the partners in the partnership, while in the case of a company it means assessing the suitability of any directors, company secretaries or shadow directors.

The application process requires an applicant to provide a Criminal Convictions Certificate (Basic Disclosure), which can be obtained from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Request a DBS check

Request copy of criminal record via GOV.UK

Apply by post

Your application form, supporting documents and fee should be sent to: Licensing, Wychavon District Council, The Civic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 1PT

document Download Scrap Metal Site/Collector application form (246 KB)

The fees payable for licences can be found on our Licensing Fees and Charges page.

Street Trading

General Information

Street trading is the selling of goods or food in any street. The term street includes any road, footway or other area to which the public have access without payment (this can include private land).

Typical examples of street trading that goes on in the area include selling hot food from vans parked in lay-bys or on industrial estates and selling ice cream from a mobile van.

We recognise that street trading can provide a useful service to people who live in or visit the District. Before you can trade in the street in our area you must get a street trading consent issued by us. If a person trades without a consent then they are committing an offence and can be fined up to £1000.

We have adopted a policy on street trading, which gives guidance to applicants, officers and councillors on the principles that we will apply when deciding whether or not to grant consent for street trading.

Apply by post

The completed application form and required supporting documents should be sent to: Licensing, Wychavon District Council, The Civic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 1PT

The application form is contained in the policy statement:  document Read Street Trading Policy Statement (312 KB)

The current fee to apply for street trading consents can be found on our Licensing Fees and Charges page.

Will I automatically receive consent?

No. It is in the public interest that we must process your application properly before it can be granted. This includes a consultation process where interested parties will be told of your application in order for them to consider its impact. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please get in touch.

Charitable Collections

You need permission to collect money or sell items on the street in aid of a charity. You also need permission to go from door to door to collect money or property or sell things in aid of a charity.

Direct Debit fundraising is not licensed but it is controlled by means of a voluntary agreement between the Council and collectors.

Follow the links below for more information.

Street collections House to House collections Direct debit fundraising

Skin piercing and tattooing

If you wish to carry out acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin-colouring, cosmetic piercing and electrolysis in our area, you must first register with us.

Once you are registered by us to carry out one of more of these activities you can operate from any premises in the district that has also been registered by us to be used for the same purpose.

These regulations exist to ensure that you meet the relevant health and safety standards and lessen the risk of infection.

We register individuals and premises separately. This helps to reduce administrative burdens on businesses and their employees as it means that premises used for a regulated activity need only to be registered once for that purpose.

It also means that individuals, once registered, do not need to register again if they move to work within different registered premises in the area.

Registered businesses are required to comply with adopted byelaws for the purpose of securing the cleanliness of registered premises, of the fittings in those premises, and of persons registered and also the cleaning and sterilisation of instruments.

Apply online via GOV.UK

Apply by post

To apply to register by post you will need to complete the following form:  document Download the Registration Application form (153 KB) .

You will need to include the current fee for registration, made payable to Wychavon District Council. The relevant fee can be found on our Licensing Fees and Charges page.

The form should then be returned to us at: Licensing, Wychavon District Council, The Civic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 1PT

Will tacit consent apply?

No. It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please get in touch.

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