Street Stalls and Concessions on Council land
Council provides concessions to operate commercial activities on some of its reserves and street stalls in places within the central business district. Most commonly these concessions are for food and beverage stalls or carts but other activities can also be considered.
On parks or reserves
Tip: If you are planning something within Council’s parks or reserves, talk to the Parks Team early at (askparksandfacilities@ncc.govt.nz). They can provide feedback on whether or not your proposal is consistent with our current plans and policies and the likelihood of obtaining landowner approval from Council.
Council sometimes gives formal approval to people or groups who want to use council-owned parks and reserves. These approvals may take the form of a lease, or licence/concession and can include:
- Commercial activity on a park or reserve (e.g., a night market, mobile vendors trading on a park or reserve, commercial shuttling of recreational users)
- Creating or installing something (e.g., network utility infrastructure, sports facilities and clubrooms)
- Using an area for an organised recreational activity not provided for through the usual Council booking process (e.g., sports fields or venues booking process).
The following agreements are generally used in the following circumstances:
- Concession or licence - activity that doesn’t prohibit other parks and reserve users from occupying the same area, nothing remaining on site overnight and often intermittent or short-term access
- Lease - medium to long term use that requires exclusive use of a particular area (e.g., a building)
- Adopt a Spot agreements – where community groups, schools and individuals agree to enhance and take care of an area of land.
To obtain approval for events on parks and reserves, make an application via Our Venues page: https://venues.nelson.govt.nz/our-venues/parks-and-reserves/
Not all applications for approval are granted, as we must weigh up requests against our responsibilities as protectors of the land.
Your application will first be assessed by our Parks and Property staff who will consult with our other specialists about any potential impacts of the activity.
Fees and payments
Council’s fees and charges are listed here.
Annual rent for a lease is generally calculated by way of a market rental valuation and is charged out at a commercial or community rate depending on the operator status.
For monthly or periodic payments, you will be required to complete an application to open a customer account which will involve credit and reference checks.
How to apply for landowner approval
Application forms for landowner approvals can be found online:
- Application for leases, licences or concessions
- Expression of Interest (Grazing of livestock within Nelson's reserves)
or you can also download them here:
- Application for leases, licences or concessions
- Expression of Interest (Grazing of livestock within Nelson's reserves)
Email your application form and supporting documents to customer.service@ncc.govt.nz.
More information on the Adopt a Spot programme can be found here.
What we don’t approve
We don’t process applications for:
- Resource or building consents
- Offsite mitigation that has been proposed as part of a resource consent
- Requests for land not owned by the Council, such as private land.
More information
If you require more information please contact the Parks Team askparksandfacilities@ncc.govt.nz
In the CBD or footpaths
For operating in the CBD/Footpath please use the Application for Street Stall Sites in the CBD. For operating in the CBD, please ensure your cart meets the requirements given on the Requirements of a good cart below.
Please be aware that any food related businesses will also need to comply with the relevant Food Safety regulations, which is a separate process.
If your proposal for a street stall involves a cart type of structure, you will also need to get this approved. Below are some guidelines that will help, but be sure to contact Council if you want to seek clarification before building or buying anything.
Council has a limited number of spaces allocated for the operation of street stalls around the centre of town. These leases become available from time to time so please contact Council if you are interested.
Council offers concessions for businesses to operate in some reserve areas (e.g, Tahunanui Reserve). Please be aware that there are some restrictions on which activities can be carried out in the certain reserves so you may want to discuss your proposal before submitting an application form.
If you’d like more information, please call Council on 546 0200 and ask to speak to a member of the Property Team.
Requirements of a good cart
- Simple but quirky design.
- Minimal size/compact/in scale.
- No more than 2.2m long x 1.8m wide x 2.2m high.
- Small wheels - low to pavement.
- Colours are sympathetic to the paving bricks (particularly the bottom half)
- No 'shiny' surfaces (zincalume etc)
- Roofs are soft and light.
- Canvas awnings for weather protection.
- Simple clear signage.
- The carts are safe with no protrusions, particularly at eye or shin level. Preferable that towbar is retractable.
- Carts are light, easy to tow, set up and pack up.
- They are stable in the wind.
- They are registered with current WOF.
- Litter bins are provided and removed by vendor when leaving the site.
- Sites are left spotless after each day’s operation.
