Pavement licensing, alcohol off sales and A-boards
Pavement licences
Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023
New legislation has been introduced by HM Government to allow hospitality businesses to apply for a pavement licence to place tables and chairs on the public pavement to serve food and drink to their customers.
The new legislation consolidates the popular and successful temporary 'light touch' pavement licensing regime set up across the country by the Business & Planning Act 2020. Which was put in place by HM Government to assist businesses whilst Covid-19 restrictions were in place.
Schedule 22 of the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023 sets up a permanent new pavement licensing regime that will still make it easy for premises serving food and drink such as bars, pubs, hotels, cafes and restaurants to seat and serve customers outdoors. This includes an already established but modified online fast-track licence application process. It still enables businesses to maximise their capacity, increase income, protect hospitality jobs and cater for the public's new found enjoyment of alfresco dining and socialising.
The changes the act has introduced include:
- Permanently removing the responsibility for issuing pavement licences and enforcement from WSCC Highways Authority and placing it with the local Licensing Authority (Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils)
- Increased responsible authority and public consultation and determination periods
- New powers to remove unlicensed furniture
- New powers for Licensing Authorities to set sustainable licence fees
Fees
Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council are currently in the process of setting out their conditions of licence and setting their licence fees. At its meeting on 23rd September 2024 Worthing Borough Council's Licensing & Control Committee deferred its decision regarding these to allow further engagement with local hospitality businesses. Consequently, the councils will be issuing temporary Pavement Licences (expiring on 31st January 2025) free of charge until the new scheme and fees are determined in January 2025.
Pavement Licensing Scheme Engagement
The councils have just completed engaging with businesses and members of the public on proposals for the licensing of tables and chairs on the public highway outside hospitality businesses (pavement licensing).
We would like to thank all those that took the time to feedback through our online questionnaire on our proposed pavement licensing scheme. These will now be considered by the councils and help formulate local licence conditions, fees and charges when presented to the Licensing Committees.
Apply for a new pavement licence
Public houses, restaurants, cafés and other food establishments can apply to Adur & Worthing Councils for a pavement licence to place tables and chairs outside their premises for customers to sit to consume food and drink.
To apply for a pavement licence please use the online form below:
Pavement licence guidance
The Guidance issued by HM Government to accompany pavement licensing introduced by the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023 can be found here:
It details the conditions businesses will need to comply with and includes measures to address:
- the needs of disabled people, which the councils must consider when determining whether to grant a pavement licence
- licence holder's reasonable provision for outside seating where smoking is not permitted
You can also:
The new pavement licence removes the need to apply for a WSCC highway permit and constitutes deemed planning permission thus removing the requirement for a separate planning application. It also, in many cases, removes the requirement for a street trading licence or consent and thus streamlines the whole process.
The application process takes only 28 working days, including a 14 working day public consultation by displaying a public notice. The relevant authorities such as Sussex Police and the Highway authority are also consulted.
Businesses are required to provide certain information with the application including:
- a plan showing the location of the premises area shown by a red line, so the application site can be clearly identified
- a plan clearly showing the proposed area covered by the licence in relation to the highway, if not to scale, with measurements clearly shown:
- the plan must show the positions and number of the proposed tables and chairs, together with any other items that they wish to place on the highway
- the plan shall include clear measurements of, for example, pathway width/length, building width and any other fixed item in the proposed area
- the proposed days of the week on which, and the times of day between which, it is proposed to put furniture on the highway
- evidence of the right to occupy the premises (eg the lease)
- photos or brochures showing the proposed type of furniture and information on potential siting of it within the area applied
- evidence that the applicant has met the requirement to give notice of the application (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, and
- any other evidence needed to demonstrate how the local and national conditions, will be satisfied
If you have any queries please contact the councils' Licensing Unit at:
Alcohol off sales
The Business & Planning Act 2020 brought in temporary changes to the Licensing Act 2003 allowing licensed premises such as public houses, bars, cafés and restaurants to serve alcohol to customers as 'off sales' even if the current premises licence does not permit it, in most cases, without having to apply for a variation of the premises licence.
The provisions in the Act temporarily modified the Licensing Act 2003 to provide an automatic extension to the terms of most premises licences which only permit the sale of alcohol for consumption 'on the premises' to allow the sale of alcohol for consumption 'off the premises'.
This off-sales permission allows off-sales to be made at a time when the licensed premises are open for the purposes of selling alcohol for consumption on the premises, subject to a cut-off time of 11pm or the closure time of an existing outside area, whichever is earlier.
The permission and any conditions attached to it are temporary. The permission will lapse on 31st March 2025.
If you wish to extend this permission the premises licence holder must apply for a variation to the premises licence.
Anyone looking for further information or guidance can contact the councils' licensing team on:
A-boards
The placing of advertising A-Boards on the public pavement is not covered by Schedule 22 of the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023 and the licensing of these boards continues to be a WSCC Highways responsibility under the Highways Act.
WSCC Highways can be contacted at:
01243 777100
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Get in touch:
Page last updated: 20 November 2024