Nine Stafford Borough businesses secure pavement licences
Pubs and cafes in a borough have been granted pavement licences so they can put tables and chairs outside and help customers stay socially distanced.
New legislation was passed by Government in July to speed up the process of securing a licence for outdoor seating for businesses welcoming customers back after lockdown.
Stafford Borough Council approved its own pavement licence policy in late July.
The authority is charging £100 per licence to help meet the costs of administering the scheme – but other councils such as Cannock Chase and Newcastle Borough have waived the fee.
Jonathan Price, Stafford Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “The hospitality industry has been hit very hard in the last few months and the use of pavements for cafes, bars and restaurants has assumed a new importance given the evidence of a lower risk of spreading coronavirus outdoors.
“We hope this new legislation will provide the opportunity to some of those businesses to utilise space outside to attract more customers – especially given the constraints still in place to prevent the spread of the virus.”
So far nine businesses have applied for pavement licences in Stafford Borough – and all nine bids have proved successful. Five Stafford businesses have now been given the go-ahead to introduce outdoor seating and tables, with a further three in Stone and one in Eccleshall.
