The Committee’s approval was sought to issue a public consultation on revisions to the Council’s Pavement Licensing Policy first approved in July 2020.

Members recalled that Pavement Licensing which was transferred from the County to Borough Councils in 2020 purely covered the ability for premises such as cafés, restaurants and pubs to put tables and chairs outside their premises on land designated as the public highway to serve customers outside.  This had provided flexibility during the covid pandemic and assisted businesses to operate more safely while restrictions were in place.  There had been a temporary cap on the fees and a fast track application process.

Officers reported that the pavement licensing provisions as laid out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced a permanent pavement licensing regime in England replacing the temporary arrangements under the Business and Planning Act 2020.  This had happened sooner than expected and Officers had acted promptly to update the policy.

Officers outlined the six key changes to the Council’s Pavement Licensing Policy.  These were to:

·         amend upwards the fees Councils could charge for new licences and renewals to a maximum of £500 and £350 respectively;

·         extend the public consultation period and council determination period from 7 to 14 calendar days;

·         extend the maximum duration of pavement licences from 1 to 2 years;

·         provide that pavement licences could be amended by the local authority with the consent of the licence holder if it was deemed that the licence conditions were not being met;

·         only allow for pavement licences to be issued if applicable rather than exercising the provisions of the old tables and chairs regime under the Highways Act 1980

·         provide powers of enforcement to local authorities to issue a notice and remove furniture placed on the highway without a pavement licence being in place

There were also several minor changes to the accompanying statutory guidance.  Officers advised that in Runnymede there were only 4 Pavement Licences in place.  Three of these were in Egham (Magna Square) and the other was in Addlestone.  These were all due for renewal at the end of September 2024.  Members were advised that if an application for a Pavement Licence was refused or revoked where breaches had occurred, there was no statutory appeal process.

Members noted that once a Pavement Licence had been granted the premises would also benefit from deemed planning permission for the furniture for the duration of the licence.  In addition, the temporary amendments to the Licensing Act 2003 provided automatic extensions to the terms of on-sales alcohol licences to allow for off-sales until 31 March 2025.  A public consultation on these would be issued by the government with a view to making this easement permanent by a Legislative Reform Order.

The Committee noted the Equalities and Environmental implications set out in the report.

Officers confirmed that all non-food and/or related premises could still apply for pavement licences under the Highways Act.  The new regime only related to the public highway.  Therefore, premises with private forecourts were unaffected.

Members were content with the proposed changes to the Policy but considered that a longer consultation period was appropriate.  Therefore, it was agreed to extend this from 4 to 8 weeks, which would still allow for consideration of the consultation outcome and the policy to be submitted for approval at the next scheduled meeting in September 2024.

It was noted that Officers would update the Council’s Constitution to include a specific reference to the Pavement Licensing Policy in the terms of reference for the Regulatory Committee.

Resolved that –

i)    Urgent Action Standing Order 42 proforma 969 be noted;

ii)   Following legislative change, to note that a revised Pavement Licensing Policy is required to be approved;

iii)  The revised Pavement Licensing Policy be approved for public consultation for a period of 8 weeks; and

iv)  Approval for adoption of the amended Policy be submitted to the next scheduled meeting of this Committee in September 2024