Café pavement licence

Pavement Licence Scheme

Introduction

Under the Business and Planning Act 2020 which came into force 22 July 2020 has introduced an alternative route for businesses such as restaurants, pubs and cafés to secure permission to place furniture on the highway and make it easier for them to serve food and drink for consumption off the premises. This is known as a Pavement Licence.

Furniture

Furniture is outlined as:

counters, or stalls for selling or serving food or drink
tables, counters or shelves on which food or drink can be placed
chairs, benches or other forms of seating
umbrellas, barriers, heaters and other articles used in connection with the outdoor consumption of food or drink

Any Provisions of Amenities permits issued by Northamptonshire Highways will cease to have effect for the duration of this pavement licence, should it be granted.

Eligibility criteria

A business which uses (or proposes to use) premises for the sale of food or drink for consumption (on or off the premises) can apply for a licence.

Businesses that are eligible include:

public houses
cafés
bars
restaurants
snack bars
coffee shops
ice cream parlours
businesses where such uses form an ancillary aspect of another use, for example supermarkets, or entertainment venues which sell food and drink

It is important to note the grant of a pavement licence only permits the placing of furniture on the highway to sell or serve food or drink and/or allow it to be used by people for consumption of food or drink supplied from, or in connection with the use of the premises.

Other regulatory frameworks still applies for alcohol sales and food registration.

Application procedure

The act requires us to have regard to the needs of disabled people when considering whether to grant a pavement licence. The Act also requires reasonable provision to be made for outside seating where smoking is not permitted.

Applications are subject to public consultation and we must take into account representations received from members of the public during the public consultation period, which is the period of 14 working days starting the day after a valid application is submitted.

The applicant is required to display a notice on site for the duration of the public consultation period. The applicant will be sent a copy of the notice to be displayed following the submission of a complete application.

The following responsible authorities will be sent a full copy of the application and may contact both us and the applicant directly with any concerns:

Highways Authority
Police
Planning Authority

Licence holders in West Northamptonshire will be required to comply with national and local conditions as well as any other reasonable conditions which may be imposed on granting the licence.

Following the 14 day public consultation, the Licensing Authority have a further 14 working days to determine the application. If after 14 days an applicant has not received a response to their application the licence is deemed granted. All licences are valid for 2 years.

If a licence deemed granted does not meet national or local conditions it may be revoked at any time on the grounds that it has breached the conditions.

Further guidance and information can be found on the government website.

Cost

New Grant - £500.00
Renewal – £350.00

Before you start you will need to check that you have:

read the licensing privacy notice
proof of right to occupy the premises (e.g. lease agreement) and ID to match e.g. Driving licence or evidence of directors listed on companies house
a certificate of Public Liability Insurance between the value of £2 million and £5 million
a photo of furniture to be sited
a map or photo showing location of where furniture will be sited
site notice will be emailed to you where applicable upon submission of your application
a card to make the relevant payment

Apply for or renew a pavement licence

Compliance

If a condition imposed on a licence (either by the local authority or nationally) is breached, the local authority will be able to issue a notice requiring the breach to be remedied.

If the licence-holder fails to do so, the local authority may amend the licence, with the consent of the licence-holder, revoke the licence or itself take steps to remedy the breach and can take action to recover any costs of so doing.

Local authorities are encouraged to regularly review licences and enforce any breaches.

The authority may revoke a licence, or amend it with the consent of the licence holder, in the following circumstances:

if it considers that the highway is no longer suitable for the use as granted by or deemed to be granted by the licence. For example, the licenced area (or road adjacent) is no longer to be pedestrianised
if there is evidence that:
- there are risks to public health or safety – for example where it comes to light that there are significant security risks which have not been sufficiently considered, or addressed in a proportionate fashion (this should be reassessed as necessary, particularly in the event of changes to the terrorism threat level)
- this use of the highway is causing an unacceptable obstruction, breaching the no-obstruction condition – for example, the arrangement of street furniture prevents disabled people, older people or wheelchair users to pass along the highway or have normal access to the premises alongside the highway
- the use is causing, or risks causing, anti-social behaviour or public nuisance – for example, the use is increasing the amount of noise generated late at night and litter is not being cleaned up

The local authority may revoke a licence in the following circumstances:

for a breach of condition, (whether a remediation notice has been issued or not)
it comes to light that the applicant provided false or misleading statements in their application – for example they are operating a stall selling hot food and had applied for tables and chairs on which drinks could be consumed
the applicant did not comply with the requirement to affix the notice to notify the public of the application or secure that the notice remains in place until the end of the public consultation period

It is good practice for local authorities to give reasons where these powers are used.

Consumer complaint

If you are not happy with the service you should complain to the person who first dealt with the matter. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive at this stage you should then complain to the Licensing Manager.

Should you need to take your complaint further please follow the Corporate Complaints procedure.

Last updated 19 June 2024