Pavement licences

New applications for pavement licences
Focus Organic, Halesworth Hamilton Fish & Chips, Felixstowe

A pavement licence allows businesses such as cafes, restaurants and bars to place removable furniture on the highway in order to sell or serve 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.

On 25 June 2020 the Government announced urgent relaxation to planning and licensing laws in the wake of severe business impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic. The relaxation was designed to help the hospitality industry recover from the coronavirus lockdown by removing short term obstacles that could get in their way. The Business and Planning Act 2020 made it easier for premises serving food and drink such as cafes, bars, restaurants and pubs, to seat and serve customers outdoors.

The Pavement Licence measures were temporary, lasting until the end of September 2021. These were subsequently extended to the end of September 2022, again until 2023, and again further extended to the end of September 2024. Most recently on 31 March 2024 the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA2023) introduced a permanent pavement licensing regime in England to extend and make changes to the temporary provisions in the Business and Planning Act 2020. 

This permanent regime retains the key features of the 2020 regime but also incorporates some changes to ensure long-term sustainability of the model.

East Suffolk Council has approved the adoption of the permanent scheme and the main points of the application are:

• Plan, photos and evidence of public liability insurance must be provided.
• 14 day consultation period with authorities including Suffolk County Council Highways and the police.
• Public notice must be displayed on the premises for the duration of the consultation period.
• Licence conditions must be adhered to
• All furniture must be removed by 11pm on any day of the week
• The licence will be valid for two years
• An application fee is applicable

Please read the Council’s Pavement Licensing Policy below for full details.

Pavement licence online application

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