Apply for permission to provide cafe facilities on a public highway

Amendments to guidance during Coronavirus

The Business and Planning Act introduces a new 'time limited' licensing regime for pavement cafe licences. The Act allows the operators of businesses selling food and drink to apply for authorisation to place tables, chairs and other furniture linked to the sale of food and drink on the highway adjacent to their premises, for their customers to use.

This new licensing regime provides a fast-track process for obtaining permission and is an alternative process to the existing licensing regime under the Highways Act 1980.

The aim of the new regime is to support the hospitality industry in its recovery and help businesses to adjust to new ways of working in a time when social distancing remains the most effective way of combating the spread of COVID-19.

Guidance for this regime can be found on: GOV UK: Guidance: pavement licences (outdoor seating proposal)

Any licence granted under this regime will stay in place for a maximum of 12 months, with licence expiration dates not exceeding 30 September 2021, as outlined in Section 4 (2)(b) of the Business and Planning Act 2020.

How to apply

Kirklees Council's Guidance document Pavement Cafe Licences - Business and Planning Act 2020 offers guidance on the application process. Applicants will need to refer to this when completing their application.

Applications must be submitted by email to licensing@kirklees.gov.uk and must be accompanied by the following:

• Completed application form
• A plan showing the location of the street furniture outside the business, clearly indicating how the business will meet the social distancing requirements
• Photos or brochures showing the proposed type of furniture
• Photo of public notice in situ
• Evidence to demonstrate how any local and national conditions will be satisfied
• Copy of Public Liability Insurance covering a minimum of £5,000,000

Incomplete applications will be rejected

Upon receipt of the application, a Licensing Officer will contact the application to arrange for the licence fee to be taken over the telephone.

The fee for this licence is £100.

Failure to make payment will result in the application being rejected.

The application will only be considered complete once payment has been made.

Once a complete application has been made, a 7-day public consultation period begins.

Consultation Period

Each application is subject to a 7-day public consultation period, which consists of:

Public notice - This must be displayed at/on the premises for which the application is being made on the day the application is served. It must be placed in such a manner that it can be seen by the public at all times, regardless of whether the business is open. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this continues to be displayed throughout the 7-day consultation period. Failure to display the public notice will result in the application being rejected and the process being re-started.

Interested parties: Upon receipt of a completed application the licensing team will consult with the following:

• West Yorkshire Police
• Highways
• Ward Councillors
• Environmental Health - Noise Team
• Environmental Health - Health and Safety Team

If your application is for premises within Huddersfield or Dewsbury Town Centres the Licensing team will consult with the following additional services:

• Town centres management team
• Council's major project team

Interested parties have 7 days in which to submit any representations either in support or against the application, you may be contacted by any one of the interested parties to discuss your application in more detail.

Decision

A decision on your application will be made within 7 days, starting the day after the end of the consultation period, and you will be notified via email of the council's decision.

There is no right of appeal if your application is rejected or if the scope is amended.

Applicants awaiting a decision MUST NOT place furniture on the highway until the outcome of the application has been determined. Any furniture or structures erected without the relevant authorisations in place will result in a request for removal. Failure to remove these could affect your application and will likely result in the Council exercising its powers under the Highways Act 1980, or other appropriate legislation, to remove the furniture / structures.

On/off sales of alcohol

Premises not currently authorised to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises ("on-sales only") will be authorised to provide off sales until 30 September 2021 without applying to the council.

These premises will be authorised to provide off-sales from the time at which their licence for on-sales commences on any given day until 11pm, unless the premise's on-sales finish prior to 11pm, in which case the licensable hours will apply.

The exclusions to this authorisation relate to any premises within the last three years which:

• Has been refused the grant of a premises licence in respect of the authorisation of off-sales
• Has been refused a variation of a premises licence in respect of the authorisation of off-sales
• Has had its premise licence varied or modified to exclude off-sales from the scope of the licence

Application under Highways Act 1980 for permission to provide cafe facilities on the highway

Businesses can still choose to apply for a Cafe on the Highway licence under the legislation provided by the Highways Act 1980. The guidance below outlines the process required for such applications.

Application process - new licence

Submit a completed application form including details of the dimensions of the area you wish to use, number of tables, chairs and parasols, the means of enclosure (barriers), number of days and times you would like to use the area.

Apply for permission to provide cafe facilities on the highway

Along with the application from, photos of the chairs, tables and barriers you wish to use need to be submitted. If you have not yet purchased these, we do accept a like for like picture off the internet.

A plan of the layout of where you are going to put your tables, chairs and other furniture.

If the application is granted then a copy of your public liability certificate is required along with the fee of £258.00 (12 month licence).

Once a completed application has been received there is currently a period of consultation that must be undertaken. The licensing service will carry out the consultation and will consult with the following:

• Public notice at the premises - the licensing service will place these notices on site,
• Serving copy of the notice on the owner and occupier of any premises materially affected by the application
• Planning,
• Highways,
• West Yorkshire Police.

The consultation period is 28 days, any objections to the proposals will need to be considered before a licence can be granted; this may include a hearing before the Council Licensing and Safety Committee.

Application process: renewal

Providing nothing has changed upon renewal the consultation would only need to take place with the following parties to ensure no concerns have come to light since the previous licence was granted. This is not subject to the same 28-day consultation, and you can continue using your pavement cafe area during this time:

• Highways
• Police

On & off sales of alcohol

If a premise has a valid premises licence issued under the Licensing Act 2003, but does not benefit from OFF sales, you can add this to the licence by way of a 'Minor Variation'. However, using a minor variation, you can only apply for the hours you already have granted for on sales. There is a 10-working day consultation via a white notice on the premises, and a fee is £89.

There is no requirement for the applicant to send a copy of the minor variation to responsible authorities. However, if the licensing authority feel the minor variation could impact on the licensing objectives, it may seek advice from one or more of the responsible authorities.

Where an existing premise licence does not cover ON sales, you would need to apply for a 'Full Variation'. This includes a 28-day consultation period, advert in a local newspaper and serving the application on the 8 relevant authorities set out in the Licensing Act 2003. The fee for this is based on the non-domestic rateable value plus the fee for the advert.

If there is no premises licence in force then a full application will be required which includes a 28-day consultation period, advert in a local newspaper and serving the application on the 8 relevant authorities set out in the Licensing Act 2003. The fee for this is based on the non-domestic rateable value plus the fee for the advert.

Other licences

You may want to consider:

• Introducing a mobile app for ordering and paying for drinks/food from any outside seating. This will alleviate any requirements for customers needing to go inside the building or installing an outside bar.
• Have a table/till with a handheld card payment just inside of your doorway so that customers can pay for their drinks within the licenced area.
• Have a plan on how you will promote social distancing/using toilet facilities etc.

Beer gardens and outdoor spaces

For premises that are covered by an existing premises licence, the following is the current (April 2018) statutory guidance on the use of beer gardens or other outdoor spaces:

• 8.35: Applicants will want to consider whether they might want to use a garden or other outdoor space as a location from which alcohol will be consumed. The sale of alcohol is to be treated as taking place where the alcohol is appropriated to the contract. In scenarios where drink orders are taken by a member of staff in the garden or outdoor space and the member of staff then collects the drinks from the licenced premises and returns to deliver them to the customer this would be treated as an off-sale and any conditions that relate to off-sales would apply.
• 8.36: In such cases it will be not necessary to include the garden or other outdoor space on the plan as part of the area covered by the premises licence. However, it will be necessary for the applicant to include the garden or other outdoor space on the plan as part of the area covered by the premises licence if the intention is to provide a service whereby drinks are available for sale and consumption directly from that area (i.e. the provision of on-sales). This would apply in the case of an outdoor bar or a service whereby a member of staff who is in the garden or outdoor space carries with them drinks that are available for sale (without the need for the staff member to return to the licenced premises to collect them).
• 8.37: If the beer garden or other outdoor area is to be used for the consumption of off-sales only, there is no requirement to show it on the plan of the premises, but the prescribed application form requires the applicant to provide a description of where the place is and its proximity to the premises.

Contact Licensing