Agenda item

This report sets out the new fees to be adopted for pavement licensing and updated conditions to be applied to pavement licences that are granted and seeks approval for these matters.

Ms Daliah Barrett, Licensing Team Leader, introduced the report.

The meeting heard:

·      In relation to the wording on page 92 of the agenda papers, it was very difficult to have a designated smoke free seating area and to have a designated smoking area totally separated. If a smoke free area was designated, then assurances would need to be made to ensure that adequate space was taken into account. Complaints had been received from people who had been at bus stops where people have smoked and cigarette smoke had made its way over to them.

·      Officers checked premises that placed tables and chairs outside the High Road in Tottenham. Conditions often were placed on licensed premises such as on match and event days where no tables, chairs or any furniture should be out. Violations would be issued with fixed penalty notices. 

·      Standard condition 27 stated that “the Licensee must not sub-let the licensed area or any part of the licensed area”. If a premises rented out the space to a private party, this would not fall foul of the condition. This condition was for, say, an ice cream van turning up and occupying that space. 

·      In relation to standard condition 29, within the pavement licence space, if a premises user would be using lighting or heaters, this needed to be displayed on the application. 

·      Page 90 of the agenda papers stated that processing a pavement licence application took on average four hours for a renewal, but did not specify how long it would take for a new application.

·      Page 91 of the agenda papers on paragraph 6.1 stated that pavement licences could also be amended by the local authority with the consent of the licence holder if it is considered that the conditions on the licence were not being met. This related to if the Licensing Authority needed to withdraw a licence, then this could be done. This would be a matter of evidence being gathered and then discussion with the head service to determine what happens with the licence. The wording had been taken from the legislation and the guidance.

·      Page 90 of the agenda papers on paragraph 4.6 stated that the new fees allowed the Council to recover the cost of processing applications, but inspecting, monitoring and enforcing pavement licensing regime would be an additional cost. These would be added as an additional resource. The Government had stated that A-Boards were becoming a public irritation.  The Council had a nil-policy on A-Boards set in 1982. The Levelling Up Act had stated that no A-Boards should be allowed in the pavement licence space. This was unpopular with some of the restaurants. If a licence holder was not being compliant, then the Council could seize these, but this would be an additional resource as to where they get stored. The information regarding these rules were on the website, but would be placed into the notes as well.

RESOLVED:

1.   To agree to set the fees at the statutory maximum, that is £500 for new applications and £350 for renewal applications set out in Appendix A of the report.

2.   To agree the pavement licence conditions as outlined in Appendix B which would be the Council’s published standard conditions including updated information regarding more recent powers given to the Licensing Authority.

3.   To note that the Licensing Authority can set further conditions as required on a case by case basis.

4.   To agree that the length of the grant of the licence would be for 1 year only and that renewals will be required each year. Reasons for a shorter period may be determined on a case by case basis after discussion with Head of Service.