A pavement licence permits a business to use furniture placed on the highway 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.
Businesses that are eligible to apply for a pavement licence include public houses, cafes, bars, restaurants, snack bars, coffee shops, and ice cream parlours including where such uses form an ancillary aspect of another use, for example, supermarkets, or entertainment venues which sell food and drink.
Furniture that may be used is:
- counters or stalls for selling or serving food or drink
- tables, counters or shelves on which food or drink can be placed
- chairs, benches or other forms of seating
- umbrellas, barriers, heaters and other articles used in connections with the outdoor consumption of food and drink.
Furniture is required to be removable i.e. not a permanent fixed structure but able to be moved easily and stored away at night. It must be related to the serving, sale and consumption of food or drink.
Advertising boards are not included in the definition of furniture within the pavement licensing regime.
The granting of a pavement licence only permits the placing of furniture on the highway. Other regulatory frameworks still apply such as the need for alcohol licences and the need to comply with registration requirements for food businesses.