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Pavement Licensing - The Business and Planning Act 2020

This report provides background to the request that the Committee delegate authority to the Interim Executive Director Place to do all things necessary to extend and operate the pavement licensing arrangements under the Business and Planning Act 2020 as amended.

Minutes:

Officers spoke to the report highlighting that the hospitality sector was heavily affected by the pandemic, where businesses such as cafés, pubs and restaurants were required to close. The Business and Planning Act 2020 enabled the hospitality sector with furniture, such as table and chairs, to serve on the public highway once covid restrictions started to be eased and the hospitality sector re-opened. This Act was temporary legislation until 30 September 2021, at a maximum fixed price of £100 per licence.

 

Officers reminded the Committee that though there had been an easing of lockdown restrictions, the hospitality sector was still affected and thus the government had extended The Business and Planning Act 2020 legislation until 30 September 2022.

 

The legislation enabled businesses within the hospitality sectors to apply for a pavement licence, and for a delegation to be put in place so that the requirements of the legislation could be met.

 

The Chair welcomed the report and advised that the Committee was being asked to agree the recommendations presented.

 

Members asked questions relating to the uptake thus far, and whether pavement licensing would merge into permanent street trading at the end of the temporary pavement licence scheme. Officers clarified that pavement licensing was under the Business and Planning Act 2020, which was a completely separate statutory regime from the street trading licenses, which was considered under the London Local Authorities Act 1990 and had different requirements and considerations.

 

Further, officers confirmed that should the legislation not be extended beyond September 2022 it would mean businesses would have no permit for a pavement licence and their licence would expire after that date. The service would ensure that all the businesses were advised of the end of their licence and that they are required to apply for a permanent street trading licence under the London Local Authorities Act in advance should they desire to continue providing services on the pavements after the Business and Planning Act 2020 had expired. Additionally, the enforcement team would intervene to ensure that businesses adhered to their licence.

 

Members noted the difficulties the hospitality industry has had where some businesses’ solution to mitigating the risks of covid was to have tables and chairs outside their establishment having not done so before. Members asked questions relating to the implications of businesses taking advantage if the local authority failed to determine an application within the set time period in the legislation and how applications would be handled in saturation areas.

 

Officers informed the Committee that they had currently issued forty-eight businesses with the current extension that had been available for the last nine months. There was no expectancy of an increase in numbers of applications as the licence was extending what businesses currently have for another year. The service was up to date with all applications that had requested an extension.  Saturation areas were not applicable under the Business and Planning Act. Saturation areas only relate to street trading designations made under the London Local Authorities Act which is a different piece of legislation.

 

Members said that they would be interested to hear at a subsequent meeting how services would work with traders when the temporary legislation came to an end, as there were concerns around possible difficulties for hospitality businesses that will have become used to trading on the public highway.

 

The proposed recommendations were put to the vote and carried with all twelve Members unanimously voting in favour.

 

The Committee RESOLVED to:

 

1.1.  Delegate authority to the Interim Executive Director Place to do all things necessary to extend and continue to implement and operate the pavement licensing arrangements under the Business and Planning Act 2020, as amended, including but not limited to the determination of standard conditions which apply, determining applications, revocation of licenses and authorising officers to enforce and exercise these functions.

 

1.2.  Set the fee for an application for a pavement licence at £100, which is the maximum fee permitted under the legislation for these licenses, such licenses to be granted for a period up to and including 30 September 2022.

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