Pavement Licensing

A Pavement Licence allows businesses which sell food and drink, such as bars, restaurants and pubs to place removable furniture such as tables and chairs on the pavement outside their premises, so that customers can consume food or drink from them.

Businesses that are eligible to apply for a pavement licence include public houses, cafes, bars, restaurants, snack bars, coffee shops and ice cream parlours.  The licence permits businesses to use furniture placed on the highway to sell 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.

Businesses which do not use their premises for the sale of food or drink, for example salons, are not eligible.

The types of furniture permitted to be used are 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 and drink.

The furniture is required to be removable, not a permanent fixed structure, and be able to be moved easily and stored away when not in use.  The council would also expect the type of furniture to be ‘in keeping’ with the local area.

A pavement licence only permits the placing of furniture on the highway. It does not override the requirements to have the correct alcohol licence or food registration in place.

Pavement Licensing Policy:

At its meeting on 29 October 2024, the Council’s Licensing Committee approved the issue of Pavement Licences pursuant to the Business and Planning Act 2020 (as amended), for conditions to be attached to such licences, and for appropriate fees to be set. The Pavement Licensing Policy incorporates national and local conditions, a template site notice and a scheme of delegation.

How to apply:

Applications must be submitted electronically using the Pavement Licence Application Form.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they submit all required documents. Where minor amendments to an application are required, the Council may “hold” an application for a short period of time to allow these amendments to be made. Where an applicant fails to make these amendments, or where an application is missing vital information, the application will be rejected.

An applicant for a pavement licence must, on the day the application is made, fix a notice of the application to the premises so that the notice is readily visible to, and can be read easily by, members of the public who are not on the premises. The notice must be constructed and secured so that it remains in place until the end of the public consultation period. The notice must contain the information in the site notice template.

The fee of £250.00 must be paid at the time of application. 

Licences will be subject to National and Local Conditions.

Further information on Pavement Licences is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pavement-licences-guidance/pavement-licences-guidance

Consultation:

Applications are consulted upon for 14 days, starting with the day after a valid application is made to the Council.

The Council is required by law to consult with the Highways Authority. In addition, to ensure that there are not detrimental effects to the application the Council will consult with:

• the Council’s Environmental Health Service;
• the Council’s Planning Department;
• Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service;
• Lancashire Police.

Members of the public and others listed above can contact the Council to make representations. The Council must take into account representations received during the public consultation period and consider these when determining the application.

Determination:

Once the application is submitted, the Council has 28 days from the day after the application is made to consult on and determine the application. This consists of 14 days for public consultation, and then 14 days to consider and determine the application after the consultation.

If the Council determines the application before the end of the determination period the Council can:

• grant the licence in respect of any or all of the purposes specified in the application;
• grant the licence for some or all of the part of the highway specified in the application, and impose conditions; or
• refuse the application.

If the Council does not determine the application within the 14-day period, the application will be deemed to have been granted.

Where a valid application has been made and relevant representations are received, the application will be determined by the licensing Sub-Committee.

Approval of Applications:

On approving a pavement licence application, the Council will issue a Pavement Licence to which conditions will be attached. The licence will also contain specific terms such as days and hours when tables and chairs are permitted and appearance and location of the furniture corresponding to the application.

A copy of the Council’s standard conditions will be attached to all Pavement Licences. Additional conditions may be attached if the Council considers it appropriate in the circumstances of any particular case.

The Council will generally only permit Pavement Licences between 08:00 and 21:00.

Applications outside these hours will be assessed in terms of the criteria set out above and in the Pavement Licensing Policy.  The Council retains the right to specify permitted hours of trading that are less than those specified above in appropriate circumstances.

Licence Duration:

If the Council determines an application before the end of the determination period (which is 14 days, beginning with the first day after the public consultation period) the Council can specify the duration of the licence, subject to a minimum duration of 3 months.

The Council will normally grant licences for the maximum period permitted, which is 2 years, unless there is good reason to do otherwise.

If a licence is ‘deemed’ granted because the authority does not make a decision on an application before the end of the determination period, then the licence will be valid for 2 years.