New policy to be looked at over pavement licences for Blackpool businesses

The way pavement licenses are to be operated and managed in future will come up for discussion by Blackpool Council next week.

The authority’s licensing committee will consider and approve a new policy in respect of pavement café authorisations at its next meeting on Monday June 2.

Pavement Licences were first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of the Business and Planning Act 2020.

They were introduced to assist the hospitality industry through those dark days of social distancing requirements.

They were originally intended to be a temporary measure with the act imposing an expiry on all licences initially of September 30 2021.

But that expiry date ended up being extended year on year through amended regulations until the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 made the provisions permanent.

Businesses in the report benefit from being able to extend their activities outside, but the council is now looking to update the way licences are managed.

A report for the licensing committee stated: “Street Café licence provision was generally unaffected by the pavement licence provisions until the implementation of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and its accompanying guidance.

“This changed in approach by central Government sets out an expectation that all authorisations that involve the provision of temporary furniture being placed on the highway for specific purposes associated with the provision of refreshments, should be achieved through the authorisation of a pavement licence. “

“ Street Café licences still have a place in Blackpool due to the special arrangements made for businesses who benefit from operating on the Promenade.

“Those businesses are required to utilise permanent fixing barriers in order to benefit from an authorisation to place furniture on the highway.”

What is the difference?

A pavement licence allows a business to place furniture, like tables and chairs, on the public highway (pavement) to sell or consume food and drink, whereas a street cafe licence is generally required when serving food and drink to customers on a highway area, potentially including areas of the street itself. Both require council approval, but the specific requirements and conditions may vary.

It is proposed that new applications for pavement licences will be charged at £500 and renewals £350. Generally, pavement licences will be issued for a period of 2 years. They can be issued for a shorter period where appropriate.

Councillors will make a decision on the proposals at their meeting next week.