Application for Pavement Café Licence

On 31 March 2024, the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023 came into force and now supercedes the temporary arrangements introduced under the Business and Planning Act 2020. Within the new permanent LURA, the following provisions now apply: 

• First time applications will now be charged at £500 and renewals will be charged at £350. 
• Licences can now be issued up to a maximum of 2 years, at the discretion of West Berkshire Council. In most cases, initial applications will be issued for 12 months. If applicants abide by the conditions of their licence and no complaints are received then subsequent renewals will likely be issued for 24 months.  
• 14 day public consultation now applies.

All existing licences will remain valid until their stated expiration, at which point applicants will need to apply for a renewal. All applications and renewals will still be subject to a site assessment and evidence of valid Public Liability Insurance being provided. Full guidance on the process can be found here.

Those wishing to apply for a new or renewal of a licence should send the following documents to trafficandroadsafety@westberks.gov.uk:

• a completed  Pavement Licence Application 2024/25 [263KB]
• a copy of current Public Liability Insurance (min £5m)
• a plan clearly showing the relevant premises and the proposed area covered by the licence in relation to the highway (if not to scale, with measurements clearly shown)
• a photograph clearly showing page 1 of the completed  public consultation notice [28KB]  in the window of the premises (first day of the consultation being the date it is submitted) 

An application will only be considered once all four documents have been received. 

The following condition applies to all licences issued inside Newbury Town Centre pedestriansed area: 

• Permission to place tables and chairs will be granted between the hours of 10am and 11pm only (previously 9am-11pm). This is because of the increased number of pavement cafés in the town centre and the necessary morning deliveries reducing the capacity for safe pedestrian movement. All those outside of Newbury Town Centre pedestrianised area remain unchanged (9am-11pm).