Apply for a Pavement Licence

The Business and Planning Act 2020 introduced a new, temporary, fast-track process for businesses to obtain a Pavement Licence for the placement of furniture such as tables and chairs on the highway (including footpaths and pavements) adjacent to their premises. A Pavement Licence can only be used for the purpose of selling or consuming food and drink in connection with the activity of the licence holder’s fixed premises.

Central government made the temporary pavement licensing regime permanent, with effect from 31 March 2024. Here are the main changes to the previous, temporary scheme:

• The application fee has been increased from £100 to £500 for first time applications and from £100 to £350 for renewal applications
• we will now grant pavement licences for two years instead of one
• The 7-day consultation and 7-day determination periods provided under the temporary regime, will now be be extended to 14 days for each
• The City Council will now be able to take enforcement action where businesses have placed furniture on the highway (including the pavement) without the required licence. Our first action would be to serve a notice on the business. If furniture continued to be placed on the highway, in contravention of the notice, the Council would remove and store the furniture, recover the costs from the business for the removal and storage of the furniture, and refuse to return the furniture until those costs had been paid. If within three months of the notice being served, the costs were not paid, the Council may dispose of the furniture, by sale or other means and retain the proceeds
• It is no longer possible for the City Council to issue Street Café Licenses for activities licensable under pavement licensing legislation in the Business and Planning Act 2020 (as amended by section 229 and schedule 22 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023). Existing Street Café Licenses will continue to be valid but when they expire a new pavement licence will be needed
• The National Guidance which the Council applies, has been revised with regard to the national no obstruction condition, including:
  • that when considering the needs of disabled people, under normal circumstances a width of 2000mm is the minimum that should be provided. In cases where this is not possible, a width of 1500mm could be regarded as the minimum acceptable distance. Though, local authorities should take a proportionate approach when measuring this
  • when considering the no obstruction condition licencing officers should be mindful of the cumulative impact of multiple pavement licences and the potential impact this could have on disabled pavement users

How to apply

It is important that you read the national guidance before applying for a licence as it contains information on eligibility, types of furniture permitted, the application process and what we will take into account when considering applications.

The application process will take approximately 4 weeks and furniture cannot be placed on the public highway until a Pavement Licence is granted.

The application fee is £500 for a first-time licence and £350 for a renewal. The fee is not refundable if the application is refused. 

You will need to include the following with your application:

• photos or brochure images showing the proposed type of furniture
• a certificate of Public Liability Insurance, to a minimum value of £5 million
• a site plan to a suitable scale or with clear measurements shown, which features:
  • the property boundary
  • the boundary of the area proposed to be licensed, marked with a red line, together with the dimensions of the area, also clearly marked
  • building and kerb lines (with measurements from the area to be licensed to the kerb edge)
  • the furniture layout
  • points of access and egress
  • the position of any lighting columns, litter bins, road signs or other existing street furniture

The easiest way to apply and pay is by credit or debit card, using the GOV.UK payment page to submit the form, upload the documents and pay the fee:

Apply for a Pavement Licence online on GOV.UK

Alternatively, you can download our Pavement licence application form and submit by email to licensingmisc@oxford.gov.uk.

Guidance

The following documents are available to download:

• Pavement Licence Application form - email applications only
• Standard Conditions
• National Conditions

Download our Pavement Licence application documents.

Notice of application

On the same day you make the application, you are required to  fix a notice of the application to the premises so that it can be read easily by members of the public who are not on the premises. You must make sure the notice remains continuously in place until the consultation period ends. A failure to follow these requirements could invalidate the licence which you have been granted.

Download our Pavement Licence template notice.

What happens next

All applications are subject to a 14 day public consultation period (not including bank holidays) commencing the day after the day a valid application and fee are received by the Council. The Council has a further 14 days (not including bank holidays) within which to make a decision on the application. If the Council fails to make a decision within this timeframe, the licence is ‘deemed granted’. There is no right of appeal if the application is rejected.

Licence conditions

In accordance with section 5 of the Business and Planning Act 2020 the Council has published a list of standard conditions that will be attached to all pavement licences, both granted and “deemed granted”.

If there is a breach of a licence condition, the Council may either revoke the licence, or serve a notice on the licence holder requiring them to take steps to resolve the issue within a specified time. If the licence holder fails to comply with a notice, the Council may take the steps ourselves and recover the costs of doing so from the licence holder.

There is no statutory appeal process for these decisions.

What happens if you put out street furniture without a licence

Pavement licensing powers and duties have been given to local councils so that hospitality businesses can utilise outdoor areas on the highway in a safe and environmentally acceptable way. But this requires everyone to follow the correct application and licence compliance requirements. The pavement licensing legislation includes powers to remove unlicensed pavement furniture and store it at the cost of the licence holder.

Street Cafe Licence

We are no longer able to issue Street Café Licences (under the Highways Act 1980 Section 115E) unless the activities fall outside the Pavement Licence provisions. Applicants will still need to apply for permission to carry out activities not licensable under the Pavement Licensing regime, under the Highways Act 1980. Examples of such activities include the placement of furniture that is not removeable, such as bolted to the ground or cannot be reasonably removed, or placement of furniture other than tables, chairs or stools on the highway.

This type of licence can only be applied for, and used in conjunction with the correct planning permission. Please see the Planning applications pages of our website for further information.

If you think you need to apply for a Street Café Licence instead of a pavement licence, please email the Business Regulation Team.