Pavement licence

The Business and Planning Act 2020 was passed to promote economic recovery and growth in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This new process introduces a streamlined and cheaper route for businesses such as cafes, restaurants and bars to get a licence to place furniture on the pavement.

The grant of a pavement licence will not alter the permitted hours on any planning permission or premises licence for the relevant premises, or affect any existing covenant on the land. If you are not already registered as a food business and you wish to provide food and drink, you must also register with Environmental Health.

Please read our pavement licensing policy for more information on the terms of the licence.

Pavement Licence Policy 2024 - pdf - 376 Kb

What you will need to apply for a licence

You will need to include the following with your application:

photos or brochures showing the proposed type of furniture
public liability insurance to a minimum value of £5 million
site plan to a suitable scale or with clear measurements

The site plan will need to show:

property boundary and proposed boundary of area to be covered by the pavement licence (with a red line to indicate the area to be licensed)
building and kerb lines
furniture layout
points of access and egress
position of any lighting columns, litter bins, road signs or other existing street furniture
areas designated as non-smoking, this includes vaping and e-cigarettes, we would encourage businesses to promote the area as non-smoking

You do not need a premises' licence to apply for a pavement licence. You do not need a licence to add furniture to any private land, for example, a car park.

Costs

There is a £185 fee for the licence. New licences from 1 October 2024 will last for 2 years.

Renewals

From 1 October 2024 businesses will have to apply for a renewal licence which will last 2 years. There is a fee of £150 for the renewal.

Current licence period

Current licences will be granted until 30 September 2024 unless there are good reasons for granting a licence for a shorter period, such as plans for future changes to the highway in that area.

Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO)

If you intend to use parking spaces or a section of the highway, it is your responsibility to ensure that any regulations have been relaxed before you can apply for a pavement licence. Please visit the County Council website for further detail.

Apply

Apply for or renew your pavement licence

Please ensure you include all the necessary details above to avoid your application being rejected.

Notice of application

On the day you apply you are required to give notice by fixing a notice of the application to the premises so that it can be read easily by members of the public who are not on the premises. You also have to make sure the notice remains in place for 14 days after you make the application. Please use our site notice template.

Site Notice Draft - pdf - 143 Kb

What happens next

We aim to determine the application within 14 days, from the first day after the public consultation period (excluding Christmas Day, Good Friday or bank holidays).

If we do not give you a decision before the end of the determination period, the application is deemed to have been granted.

Licence conditions

There will be a default no-obstruction condition, and you must provide a smoke-free area.

An obstruction of the highway is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 and will be dealt with by the Highway Authority or the Police. The Highway Authority retains the power under s.149 of the Highways Act to remove items on the highway which are a nuisance, whether they are licensed or not. This power is exercisable immediately in cases where the furniture causes a danger.

If there is a breach of a licence condition, we may either revoke the licence, or serve a notice on the licence holder requiring them to take steps to resolve the issue within a specified time. If the licence holder fails to comply with a notice, we may take the steps ourselves and recover the costs of doing so from the licence holder.

There is no statutory appeal process for these decisions.