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Can I Put a Seafood Trailer in My Own Pub Car Park?

by SUE ADAMS
(CHELMSFORD)

Seafood catering trailer parked in a pub car park in the UK

Seafood catering trailer parked in a pub car park in the UK

HI CAN WE HAVE A SEAFOOD TRAILER OURSIDE IN OUR PUB CAR PARK. WE OWN THE PUB BUSINESS.

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Jun 15, 2026
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by: MobCater

Thanks Sue, this is a nice position to be in, because owning the pub and the car park takes away a lot of the headaches that catch most mobile caterers out.

The first thing worth knowing is that a street trading licence is for selling on a public highway or council land. Because the car park is part of your own pub business and sits on private land, you are not street trading in the legal sense, so you will not need street trading consent from the council for it. That alone makes your life much simpler than someone trying to get a roadside pitch.

What you do still need to sort is the food side. You will have to register the seafood trailer as a food business with your local council at least 28 days before you start serving, and it is free to do. It gets registered as its own food business even though it sits at the pub, so the Environmental Health Officer will want to see it set up properly with handwashing, temperature control and a clean prep area, the same as any catering trailer. Whoever runs it should hold a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate.

The one area I would check carefully is planning. Parking a trailer is fine, but siting one permanently in the car park to sell food can count as a change of use of the land, and that is the council planning department’s call rather than the licensing team’s. If it is occasional or seasonal you may be within permitted limits, but a quick informal chat with your planning department before you commit is well worth it. While you are at it, check your premises licence and any lease or pub company agreement, because a tie or lease can carry its own conditions on what you trade.

Last thing, and it matters with seafood, is gas. If the trailer runs fryers or a hob on propane, any gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and you will want a current gas safety certificate before it fires up.

Best wishes

David

Disclaimer: This is general advice for UK mobile catering. Licensing and planning rules vary between councils, so always check with your local authority before you start trading.

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