Running a Business in Feltham
The practical side of trading in Feltham — what you pay, what you need permission for, and what help exists. Written for the people actually running the shops, not for consultants.
Quick help — what do you need?
Pick what applies to you.
💰 Am I paying business rates I don’t need to?
Small business relief can take your bill to zero. Most who qualify never apply.
🪑 I want tables, chairs or an A-board outside
Pavement and street trading licences — costs, timings and the fine for jumping the gun.
🗑️ What do I do with my trade waste?
Household collections do not cover business waste. Here is what does.
🍽️ I sell food
Registering with the Council, your hygiene rating, and how to appeal one.
🏦 What is happening to Feltham High Street?
The Future Feltham masterplan, and what it means for your premises.
🤝 Where do I get help or funding?
Business support, grants and who to talk to at the Council.
💰 Business rates — you may be paying nothing
This is the one most small businesses miss.
If your rateable value is under £12,000, you get 100% Small Business Rate Relief. That is a bill of zero.
Between £12,001 and £15,000 the relief tapers down. It is not automatic on the older scheme — you have to apply.
How to check what you pay
Your rateable value is not your rent. It is the Valuation Office’s estimate of annual rental value, and you can look it up free on GOV.UK by searching your postcode. Plenty of Feltham High Street units sit under £12,000.
The other reliefs worth knowing
- Retail, hospitality and leisure relief — for shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants and similar. Capped at £110,000 per business across all properties.
- Charity relief — 80% mandatory for registered charities and community amateur sports clubs, with discretion for the rest.
- Hardship relief — discretionary, and the Council describes it as the exception rather than the rule. You have to show exceptional circumstances, but it exists.
- Transitional relief — if revaluation moves your bill sharply, the change is phased. Applied automatically.
Who to ask
Hounslow’s Revenues Service: 020 8583 5708 · businessrates@hounslow.gov.uk
🪑 Tables, chairs, A-boards and shop front displays
If you put anything on the pavement — or within seven metres of the street — you need permission. That covers A-boards, shop front displays, stalls, food vans, and tables and chairs.
Do not put anything out before your licence is granted. Hounslow can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice, and it is a common way for businesses to get caught out while an application is still running.
☕ Pavement licence — for food and drink premises
For pubs, cafes, bars, restaurants and food-to-go premises putting out removable furniture.
- £500 for a new licence, £350 to renew. This went up from £100 under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, so older advice online is wrong.
- Valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- You must leave 1.5 metres of unobstructed pavement between your furniture and the kerb or the next obstruction. That is an access requirement, not a guideline.
- Furniture must be removable and stored away at night — not a fixed structure.
- You will need a public liability insurance certificate, a scale plan with dimensions, and photographs of the area.
🚩 Temporary street trading licence — for everything else
A-boards, shop front displays and stalls go through this route instead.
- Issued for up to six months.
- 28-day public consultation. You display a notice at the premises so residents and other businesses can comment.
- Allow up to two months for the whole process. Apply well ahead of when you actually want to trade.
- Fees come in two parts: an application fee when you apply, and a licence fee if it is granted. The application fee is not refunded if you are refused.
- Stalls and pitches need a trade waste contract and public liability cover of at least £2 million.
- Staff ID cards for stalls are £30 each, and do not expire.
Worth knowing: Hounslow currently reports no vacant market pitches in the borough, so new pitch applications are not being accepted.
🗑️ Trade waste
Business waste is not covered by household collections, and putting it in a household bin or out in bags is fly-tipping as far as enforcement is concerned.
You can take pre-sorted waste to Space Waye Reuse and Recycling Centre on Pier Road, North Feltham Trading Estate. Clean loads of a single recyclable material — paper, cardboard, metal or green waste — are charged at a lower rate, around £100 a tonne, than mixed trade waste. Report to the weighbridge on arrival.
You also need to keep a duty of care record showing where your waste goes. If you use a contractor, keep their waste transfer notes.
🍽️ If you sell food
Any business selling or preparing food must register with Hounslow Council at least 28 days before opening. Registration is free and cannot be refused — but trading without it is an offence.
You will then be inspected and given a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5. In England, displaying it is voluntary — but customers look it up, and a rating below 4 costs you trade whether it is on the door or not.
If you disagree with a rating, you have a right to appeal, a right to reply that gets published alongside it, and a right to request a re-inspection once you have made improvements. Most businesses never use these.
🏦 The Future Feltham masterplan
Hounslow has approved a 15-year plan proposing around 3,000 homes, 9,200 jobs and 25,000m² of commercial space, alongside changes to public space, transport and the town centre.
What it means if you trade here: more residents means more footfall over time, but town-centre change also means construction, altered parking and possible changes to your part of the High Street. The Council calls it a strategic framework rather than a guarantee that every proposal happens.
The practical point: consultations on it are where businesses get a say, and they are easy to miss. We list them in our business news as they come up.
🤝 Support, funding and who to talk to
Council contacts
- Business rates: 020 8583 5708 · businessrates@hounslow.gov.uk
- Licensing: through Hounslow’s street trading and licensing pages
- Trading Standards: Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
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