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Agenda item

FAST TRACK PAVEMENT LICENSES

Head of Licensing and Regulatory Service to provide a verbal Report.

Minutes:

6.1.     The Licensing Committee received a verbal report from the Director of Public Protection and Licensing. In his presentation, Mr Ralph referred to the following matters.

(a)  He wanted to draw the Committee’s attention to the work that officers had been carrying out since June of this year to support the hospitality sector by fast tracking tables and chairs licences.

(b)  Mr Ralph noted that the usual procedures for issuing a licence for tables and/or chairs required planning permission and this could take time. Therefore, to support the reopening of the hospitality sector, in particular, premises in streets that had been closed to traffic during the lockdown period, a fast-track approach had been agreed by Licensing and Planning and Highways officers.

(c)   The Council could now issue a licence for tables and chairs within 5-working days and 405 fast-track licence applications had been received and 317 licences had been issued before the introduction of Central Government’s Pavement Licence Scheme as provided for in the Business and Planning Act 2020.

(d)  The fast-track policy adopted by the Council had allowed premises’ owners to operate legally when reopening after the lifting of lockdown measures on 5 July 2020.

6.2.     In conclusion, Mr Ralph thanked several Members for allowing an Urgency Committee to be convened to hear officer proposals for a Fast-Track Pavement Licence Scheme. He noted that, since 5 July, a further 338 applications had been received and over 200 additional licenses had been issued. He noted that the Government scheme would be in operation until September 2021. Consequently, the issuing of fast-track licences would continue for the foreseeable future.

6.3.     On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked officers for their tremendous work in supporting the hospitality sector. The Chairman then invited comments from Members on Mr Ralph’s report. Members raised the following points.

(a)  Licences were issued for an initial 3-month period as this would allow officers the opportunity to reassess the operation of the licences in areas where there may be rapid changes in footfall in response to varying lockdown measures. It also allowed an assessment to be made of the effect of granting a licence on residents.

(b)  The provision for renewing pavement licences were now prescribed in the provisions of the Business and Planning Act 2020.

(c)   The main consultees in issuing pavement licences were Highways and Environmental Health and if a licence was refused it was usually for safety reasons.

(d)  Mr Ralph confirmed that licence holders were aware of the requirement to renew their licence every three months. However, with changes in the weather, it was quite possible that many licence holders would not wish to renew their licence.

(e)  An application for a pavement licence could include the provision of heaters and umbrellas and this was provided for in the legislation as well as the Council’s fast-track scheme. Each application for a pavement licence was assessed on its merits, including applications for umbrellas and heaters.

(f)    In response to the Government’s requirement for licensed premises to close at 10 PM, officers would be writing to licence holders to remind them that the restriction also applied to the use of tables and chairs.

6.4.     In conclusion, the Chairman thanked Mr Ralph for his report.

NOTED