The impending ban on smoking in public places has helped prompt Cumbria County Council to introduce a licensing scheme for on-street furniture and shop-front displays.
The county council licence will operate in areas where district councils do not run their own schemes to regulate on-street facilities such as seating for cafes and pubs as well as on-street displays of goods such flowers at florists and fruit and veg at greengrocers.
An increase in the use of the street as a trading area and the prospect that the forthcoming smoking ban will create even greater demand for on-street seating outside pubs, cafes and restaurants, has led to the development of a the scheme.
It is also responding to a rise in the number of complaints about footway obstructions from members of the public and from organisations representing the interests of disabled people.
The scheme recognizes that such on-street facilities can be good for the economy and for the vitality of businesses, villages and towns. Therefore, the new licence scheme seeks to strike the right balance between allowing street use where practical while making sure that the county council lives up to its legal responsibility to ensure that footways and pedestrian areas are kept clear enough to be easily used by pedestrians and people using wheelchairs or pushing prams.
The county council is in the process of writing to all premises which currently make use of the pavement to inform them of the new arrangements.
The scheme will involve an application form filled-in by the owner / operator of any business wishing to use the pavement. A preliminary site meeting will be held to assess the site and the feasibility of proposals for its use.
Then, consultees from the police, fire service, ambulance service, district council, parish council and neighbours will be asked to identify any concerns they have.
If there are no significant objections a public notice of the proposals will be published in the local press. This will start a 28-day period within which other objections can be made - if there are still no significant objections a 12-month licence can be granted.
In the event that an application is refused there will be an appeals process.
The council intends to introduce a charge of £250 to cover the cost of running the scheme which includes placing notices of applications in the local press, consultation, administration and enforcement.
Many other authorities already have an on-street licence schemes for which they levy a charge. These include for comparison:
Windsor and Maidenhead £400 + £80 per sq metre per year
Stockport £335
Sunderland £420
Lincolnshire 10-25 people £50, more than 25 £500
Torbay £200
Lancashire £272.50
ENDS
Media enquiries to Justin Hawkins, Media Officer on 01228 606334