You need a licence to put tables and chairs outside your premises on the highway.
There are 2 types of pavement café licence you can apply for:
- pavement café licence under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023
- pavement café licence under the Highways Act 1980
Pavement café requirements
You must:
- keep within the shop frontage, unless you have special consent to use other areas
- provide tap barriers around your pavement café area so that visually impaired people can find their way around it safely
- control and clear litter and debris in and around your pavement café
- leave at least a 1.5 meter clear space between the outside of your tap barriers and the outer edge of the footpath, so there is enough room for everyone to get past safely (we may ask for up to 2 meters in busy/high footfall areas) - recommended minimum footway widths and distances are in section 3 of GOV.UK: Inclusive Mobility
Alcohol and playing amplified music
You'll require additional permissions for the sale of alcohol or to play amplified music.
Apply for licence under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023
You can apply for a pavement café licence under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 if all of the following apply:
- your business uses (or proposes to use) the premises for the sale of food or drink (such as pubs, cafés, bars, restaurants and ice cream parlours)
- you'll remove your furniture at the end of the day
- you do not intend to have music speakers
It's valid for one year, and you'll need to renew it each year before it expires.
Cost and what you need for your application
It costs £160 for a pavement café licence. In addition to this you'll need to provide:
- location of site and layout plan (this does not need to be a scaled architect drawing)
- description/pictures of furniture appearance
- public liability insurance of at least £5 million
- risk assessment (health and safety)
- details of premises licence under the Licensing Act (if applicable)
- confirmation of completing Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) Awareness e-learning training
- any other information to support your application
Public notice of your application
Once you submit your application, you must post a public notice on your premises advertising your application.
The notice must be displayed for 14 consecutive days, starting the day after you submit your application.
If you fail to place this notice up, your application will be rejected.
We have a public notice template that you can use available on this page.
After you submit your application
Once you submit your application to us, we'll consult with the Highways Department, South Yorkshire Police and any other services that may need to know about your pavement café area.
If there are no issues, we'll issue your licence after the 14 day consultation period.
If there are issues, we'll try and resolve these matters and then make a decision within 14 days after the consultation period.
Apply for licence under the Highways Act 1980
You can apply for a pavement café licence under the Highways Act 1980 if any of the following apply:
- you do not sell food or drink
- you wish to use furniture that is not removable
- you intend to have music speakers
It's valid for one year and you'll need to renew it each year before it expires.
Cost and what you need for your application
It costs £160 for a pavement café licence. In addition to this you'll need to provide:
• completed application form
• location and site layout plan at a scale of 1:100
• planning permission
• furniture appearance – pictures/brochures etc
• public liability insurance of at least £5million
• risk assessment (health and safety)
• premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (if applicable)
• confirmation of completing an Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) Awareness e-Learning training
Planning permission
You must get planning permission for the change of use of the highway to a pavement café and for the installation of any structures. This is the case even if there is an existing café or other food and drink uses in the adjacent building.
Public notice of your application
Once you submit your application to us, you must place a public notice on your premises advertising your application. The notice must be displayed for 28 consecutive days, starting the day after you submit your application to us.
We have a public template notice that you can use. Please contact us for this template.
If you fail to place this notice up, your application will be rejected.
After you submit your application
Once you submit your application to us, we'll consult with the Highways Department, South Yorkshire Police and any other services that may need to know about your pavement café area.
If there are no issues, we'll issue your licence after the 28 day consultation period.
If there are issues, we will try and resolve these matters and then make a decision as soon as possible after the consultation period.
How to apply
Please contact us for a pavement café licence under the Highways Act 1980 application form.
