Cafés, bars and restaurants in Crawley are to be charged more to place chairs and tables outside their premises.
Since the pandemic, Crawley Borough Council has been responsible for processing applications for pavement licences – a temporary arrangement brought in in 2020 to help keep businesses afloat while observing social distancing rules.
The charge was £100.
That temporary arrangement has become permanent and, since March 31, authorities have been allowed to charge up to £350 to renew a pavement licence and £500 for a new one.
During a meeting of the licensing committee on Monday (August 5), officers recommended that those maximum fees be applied immediately, with the licences being valid for two years.
A report to the committee said the £100 fee did not ‘reflect the cost of providing the service’.
It added: “Restaurants, cafés, bars and other premises benefiting from a pavement licence are an important part of the borough’s hospitality offering.
“However, the cost of providing the pavement licence function must be paid for by the service user and not be subsidised by other council funds.”
But there was concern from some of the committee that the proposed fees were on the high side for small businesses, which may only have room for a handful of tables and chairs outside.
Council leader Michael Jones said: “What I don’t want to do with this policy is put off some smaller businesses who might like to exercise the benefits of having a pavement licence.
“The benefit you get from a pavement licence is far higher if you are a high street business than it is if you are a small café based somewhere else.”
It was agreed that the final decision on what fees to charge would be made by the head of community services, in consultation with the relevant cabinet member and the chair of the licensing committee.
The decision would need to take into account the size of the business applying for a licence and the benefit that business would get from having a licence.
Currently 21 businesses in the borough have pavement licences.
Before the pandemic, when the county council was responsible for the licences, the charge was £412 for one year.
