Decision details

Part 1 of the Business and Planning Act 2020 (the “Act”) came into force on 22 July 2020. Part 1 of the Act creates Pavement Licences, which if granted, allow premises to place removable furniture on the highway adjacent to the premises for the purpose of selling or serving food or drink or for customers to use to consume food or drink from the premises.

Applications for Pavement Licences are made to the District Council.

Consideration and determination of Pavement Licences is a Council function as sections 1 to 7 of the Act are listed in paragraph B of Schedule 1 to the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000 (functions which are not to be the responsibility of an authority's executive).

Sections 1 to 7 of the Act provide for:

• Determination of applications;
• Setting the application fee;
• Publishing standard conditions;
• Attaching specific conditions to licences;
• Determining the duration of licences; and
• Enforcement and Revocation of licences.

Applications for Pavement Licences must be determined within 14 days (7 day Public Consultation Period followed by a 7 day Determination Period). If not, applications are deemed to be granted.

It is recommended that the Chief Executive, until a report can be taken to Full Council on 8 September 2020, approves the reason, set out below, for consideration and determination of Pavement Licences to be carried out by the Environmental Health Team Manager to enable applications for Pavement Licences to be determined within the statutory time period.

To allow the Environmental Health Team Manager to consider and determine applications for Pavement Licences under the Act. For the avoidance of doubt “consider and determine” includes all the functions contained within sections 1 to 7 of the Act.

Obtaining Full Council authority to delegate the function of considering and approving Pavement Licences to the Environmental Health Team Manager. The next meeting of Full Council is not until 8 September 2020. This would mean that any applications received between now and 8 September 2020 would not be able to be considered or determined in which case the applications would be deemed granted.

A deemed licence is only subject to the “no-obstruction” condition and the “smoke-free seating condition” within the Act and any conditions published by the Council. If conditions are not published by the Council (as this is a function under s.5 of the Act, therefore without this Decision would also need to be approved at the Full Council meeting in September) licences will be deemed granted with minimal conditions giving the Council less scope for enforcement.