The Business and Planning Act 2020 makes it easier for premises serving food and drink (such as bars, restaurants and pubs) to seat and serve customers outdoors through changes to planning procedures and alcohol licensing.
The licence allows you to place furniture such as tables and chairs on the pavement outside your premises, is for a fixed fee and has a 10-day determination period.
How much does it cost?
The pavement licence costs £75.
How to apply
If you wish to make an application for a pavement licence:
You’ll need to upload your completed application from below by following the link ‘Submit your pavement licence’. You must include supporting evidence, as outlined below.
To complete an application, you’ll need:
- a debit or credit card for the £75 fee (you can pay this when you upload the form. If your application is unsuccessful, we won’t take any money)
- a plan showing the location of the premises shown by a red line, so we can clearly identify the application site
- a plan clearly showing the highway area you’re proposing to be covered by the licence (if it’s not to scale, please clearly show measurements). The plan must show the positions and number of the proposed tables and chairs, together with any other items you wish to place on the highway. Clear measurements include, for example, pathway width/length, building width and any other fixed item in the proposed area
- the proposed days of the week you wish to put furniture on the highway, and the times on each day
- the proposed duration of the licence (for example, three months, six months, or a year)
- evidence of the right to occupy the premises (for example, your lease)
- photos or brochures showing the proposed type of furniture and information on where you will site it within the area you’re applying for
- reference to any existing pavement licence currently under consideration by the local authority (if applicable)
- evidence that you’ve met the requirement to give notice of the application by displaying our site notice (for example photographs of the notice outside the premises and of the notice itself)
- a copy of a current certificate of insurance that covers the activity for third party and public liability risks, to a minimum value of £5 million
any other evidence needed to demonstrate how you satisfy the conditions needed to grant a licence, both local and national.