Pavement Licences

What is a pavement licence?

A pavement licence is a licence granted by the Council, which allows the licence-holder to place removeable furniture on part of a relevant highway adjacent to the premises in relation to which the application was made, for either or both of the following purposes:

• use of the furniture by the licence-holder to sell or serve food or drink supplied from, or in connection with relevant use of, the premises;
• use of the furniture by other persons for the purpose of consuming food or drink supplied from, or in connection with relevant use of, the premises.

Relevant use means use as a public house, wine bar or other drinking establishment or other use for the sale of food or drink for consumption on or off the premises.

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 connection with the outdoor consumption of food or drink

Licences granted under this provision are exclusively for the use of furniture relating to the consumption of food and drinks. Other furniture, such as advertising boards, are not included. The furniture must be removeable.

Licences can only be granted in respect of highways listed in section 115A(1) Highways Act 1980.  Generally, these are footways restricted to pedestrians or are roads and places to which vehicle access is restricted or prohibited. Highways maintained by Network Rail or over the Crown land are exempt (so a licence cannot be granted).

The Secretary of State has issued guidance on pavement licences.

The Council has approved a pavement licensing policy, which can be downloaded here:

Pavement Licensing Policy – October 2024

How to apply

You can apply for a pavement licence using our new licensing portal below:

Licensing portal

When you submit the application, you will also need to provide the following:

• Public liability insurance to a minimum value of £5 million
• A site plan to a suitable scale or with clear measurements showing:

– property boundary and proposed boundary of area to be covered by the pavement licence (with a red line to indicate the area to be licensed)

– building and kerb lines o measurements of the clear space between the licensed area and any obstacles or the edge of the pavement/road

– furniture layout

– location and type of barriers to separate the licensed areas from the rest of the highway

– position of any lighting columns, litter bins, road signs or other existing street furniture

• Proof of payment of the required licence fee

What happens after the application is made?

Once you have submitted a full and valid application, you will need to advertise your application by putting on display a public notice at the relevant premises.  This public notice must then stay on display for a period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the application is made (excluding Christmas Day, Good Friday or bank holidays).   This period of time is known as the “public consultation period.”

During the public consultation period, the Council will send a copy of the application to relevant organisations including Gloucestershire Highways, the Police and Environmental Health.  We will also publicise all applications received on our website.

Determination of applications

Following the end of the public consultation period, the Council has a further 14 days to decide whether or not to grant a pavement licence.

Before reaching a decision, the Council will take account of any representations made during the public consultation period.

The Council may reach a decision to:

• Grant the pavement licence to the applicant
• Reject the application

If granting the application, the Council may grant the licence in respect of:

• Any or all of the purposes in relation to which the application is made
• Some or all of the part of the relevant highway specified in the application

The Council can only grant a licence if it considers that doing so will not:

• Prevent traffic, other than vehicular traffic, from—
  – entering the relevant highway at a place where such traffic could otherwise enter it (ignoring any pedestrian planning order or traffic order made in relation to the highway),
  – passing along the relevant highway, or
  – having normal access to premises adjoining the relevant highway
• Prevent any use of vehicles which is permitted by a pedestrian planning order or which is not prohibited by a traffic order
• Prevent statutory undertakers having access to any apparatus of theirs under, in, on or over the highway
• Prevent the operator of an electronic communications code network having access to any electronic communications apparatus kept installed for the purposes of that network under, in, on or over the highway.

In considering applications, the Council will have regard in particular to:

• The needs of disabled people, and
• The recommended distances required for access by disabled people as set out in the guidance issued by the Secretary of State.

Licence duration and conditions

Licences will be issued for a period of two years, unless there are good reasons for granting a licence for a shorter period, such as plans for future changes in the use of road space.

The national conditions applicable to all pavement licences and the Council’s own standard pavement licence conditions are set out in the pavement licensing policy.

Renewing a pavement licence

If a licence holder wishes to continue to placing removeable furniture on the highway after the expiry date shown on their licence, they will need to apply for a further licence before the licence expires.

Such applications will be treated as a renewal application provided that:

• it is made by a person who already holds a pavement licence,
• it is in respect of the premises to which the existing licence relates, and
• it is for a licence to begin on the expiry of the existing licence and on the same terms

In all other circumstances an application will be treated as an application for the initial grant of pavement licence and not as a renewal application.

Holders of pavement licences will be issued with a renewal reminder at least two months prior to the expiry date shown on their licence.

The process for applying for renewal of a pavement licence is the same as that for applying for the initial grant of a licence, however a different (lower) fee is required.

Does tacit consent apply?

Tacit consent applies to this application. This means that you can assume the authorisation has been granted (subject to standard conditions that might apply) if you have not received a decision notice from us within 14 days beginning with the day after the end of the public consultation period for your application.