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Streets, roads and pavements

Pavement café licences

To put tables and chairs outside your premises 'on the highway', you need a licence.

The government has enacted changes to pavement café licensing under the Business and Planning Act 2020 and the associated Pavement Café Licences Guidance. These changes aim to offer a streamlined process for pavement café licences.

Pavement café licences

To place tables and chairs outside your premises on the highway, you will need:

  • a pavement café licence under the Business and Planning Act 2020 process

This process enables you to apply for a licence (not beyond the end of 30 September 2024), under the Business and Planning Act 2020.

If you wish to apply for a pavement café licence under Business and Planning Act 2020, you will need to:

Apply for a pavement café licence

Our guidance was updated in December 2022 following a decision made by Full Council on 15 December 2022.

Further information about the Full Council meeting and the changes to the guidance is available online, or you can also watch the webcast of the meeting online (Full Council meeting - 15 December 2022).

Application process

Once we receive your application and supporting documents, we will check that we have all the information we need. We will aim to let you know the next working day if we require any additional information.

After you have sent us your application, you must display the standard notice template in your premises’ window or on your door without delay, for businesses, organisations and members of the public to be able to read the notice. The notice must remain in a location visible to all for the 7 days of the consultation period.

When the consultation period is over, we will consider all the information you submitted together with the consultation responses we receive and determine your application within 7 days.

The £100 licence fee will be invoiced upon a licence being issued.

Renewal of a pavement café licence granted before July 2020

If you already have a pavement café licence (granted before July 2020, with planning permission), you need to renew it every year. To renew your licence, you will need to:

  • complete and return our pavement café application form

Apply for a pavement café licence

Changing the conditions of an existing licence

If you wish to apply to change or vary the conditions of your existing pavement café licence you will need to submit a new application licence under the Business and Planning Act 2020. We cannot vary an existing pavement café licence granted under the Business and Planning Act 2020. All applications for a pavement café licence under the Business and Planning Act 2020 must follow the above process.

Also see

Pavement Café Licences

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA