Register a Food Business

All food businesses in the district, including voluntary organisations, need to register with us and tell us about any premises used for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food.

Food premises include:

• Restaurants
• Hotels and guest houses
• Cafes
• Shops and supermarkets
• Staff canteens
• Kitchens in offices
• Warehouses
• Delivery vehicles
• Buffet cars on trains
• Market and other stalls
• Mobile catering units

Childminders do not need to register. Food business registration will happen automatically when you register with Ofsted.

If you use vehicles for your food business in connection with permanent premises such as a shop, or warehouse, you only need to tell us how many vehicles you have. You do not need to register each vehicle separately. If you have one or more vehicles but no permanent premises, you must tell the authority where they are normally kept.

Your details will go onto the Food Premises Register. The register includes details of the types of food businesses and relevant addresses of the food businesses within the district. This register is a public document and members of the public can request to see the register.

Other information provided for the register will not be disclosed outside the Council, local government departments and government agencies. The details will be used for the purpose of registration, enforcement and the protection of public funds.

Once you have registered, you will need to tell us if you have any of the following changes:

• Change of proprietor
• Change in the nature of the business
• Change of the address at which moveable premises are kept

All new proprietors will need to complete a new registration application.

Registration is not required for primary production for private or domestic use or for domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption.

Certain businesses producing meat, meat products, eggs, milk, dairy products, fish and/or fish products are exempt from registering as they will need separate approval. If you are unsure if your business might be exempt, please contact us using the contact form.

Registration will allow our food inspectors to keep an up-to-date list of all those premises in the area so they can inspect them when they need to. The frequency of the inspections will depend on the type of business.

The aim of the inspections is to maintain and improve conditions in food premises, promote food hygiene best practice, address issues in relation to foodborne disease, provide advice and to carry out any sampling.

Following your inspection, you will receive your food hygiene rating. Please go to Food Hygiene Ratings for further information.

All registered food operators are required to have considered the risks associated with their food operation. The majority of food businesses will need to have a documented food safety management system in place. The Food Standards Agency has a lot of information available for new and existing businesses including downloadable packs, free training and good hints and tips. Please go to the Food Standards Agency website via the links at the bottom of this page.

If you'd like further guidance or advice from an Environmental Health Officer regarding food hygiene requirements please use our contact form available at the bottom of the page.

If you need help with:

• Starting up
• Recruiting and training staff
• Looking for business premises

advice can be found on our Business Support page

You must make sure you have the correct planning permission for your food business. Even if you are taking over from an existing business, you should still check that the appropriate planning consent has been given. You may require planning permission or building regulations approval for:

• changing the use of the existing premises
• installing a ventilation system to the building
• erecting a smoking shelter
• making major changes to the structure of a premises

For further information, please go to our Do I Need Planning Permission? page and for Building regulation queries please go to Building Regulations

You will need a licence if you intend to:

• Sell alcohol
• Supply alcohol on behalf of a club
• Provide regulated entertainment
• Provide late night refreshment
• Sell food on the street
• Place furniture such as tables and chairs on the public highway for your customers

For further information on licences please visit Licensing