Legal background Outdoor seating
Businesses selling food and drink such as cafes, pubs and restaurants can apply to the local council for a "pavement licence" allowing them to put furniture such as tables and chairs outside on the highway for their customers to consume their food and drink. The present procedure for the grant of a "pavement licence" is set out in Part 7A of the Highways Act 1980. London boroughs can also choose to opt into a procedure set out in the London Local Authorities Act 1990. The City of Westminster operates its own procedure set out in the City of Westminster Act 1999.
	The Act will provide a new streamlined procedure enabling businesses serving food and drink to apply for a temporary pavement licence. This will be a bespoke procedure, outside those Acts. In addition to a pavement licence, some local councils require the business to also apply for planning permission on the basis that putting tables and chairs on the highway is a change of use of the land. The Act provides that where a temporary pavement licence is granted, any necessary planning permission is automatically deemed to have been granted.