Pavement cafes

Temporary process for pavement café licence applications

We issue licences for pavement cafés in Belfast. We have introduced a temporary process for licence applications to help businesses recover during coronavirus (COVID-19). Business operators must ensure they are familiar with government legislation and coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance. They must adhere to all requirements relevant to their workplace, to protect the health and safety of staff and customers.  This includes social distancing advice.  

Types of premises requiring a pavement café licence

A pavement café licence authorises a person who operates a business supplying food or drink (in or from premises) to place furniture on a public area for use by customers. This includes:

• cafés,
• restaurants,
• pubs,
• retail outlets providing refreshments,
• takeaways and
• supermarkets with a deli counter.

How much does a pavement café licence cost?

Due to coronavirus (COVID-19), we have waived application fees for temporary pavement café licences.

Guidance for pavement café licence applications

We have published advice on what we will consider appropriate for a pavement café licence including:

• pedestrian and vehicular access
• size and layout
• likely disturbance to other businesses or residents
• furniture design
• safety issues 

Before submitting an application, please read our guidance to check if your proposal will meet all the criteria. 

• View our guidance information

How to apply

You can download a licence application form:

• Download an application form for a temporary pavement café licence (PDF 185 KB)

We can send you the application form and guidance by post or email.

Send your completed application form with the relevant documents by email to pavementcafes@belfastcity.gov.uk or post it to:

Building Control
Ground Floor
Cecil Ward Building
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP

Documents needed

You must send us certain documents with your application form.

Site location map

You must provide a map (preferably Ordnance Survey) showing the proposed pavement café area marked in red and the adjoining streets and properties.

Proposed café plan

You must provide a plan of the proposed pavement café area, the streetscape and all utilities and services including lampposts, bollards, fire hydrants, manholes, cycle stands, litter bins and any other items of street furniture located within the immediate vicinity. The dimensions of the proposed pavement café area must also be shown.

There are examples of pavement café plans in our guidance information.

Details of the furniture

We will need details of the number, materials and types of chairs, tables, umbrellas to be provided in the café. It would be helpful if you include photographs, manufacturer, detailed brochures of proposed furniture or photographs of existing furniture.

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance cover with minimum indemnity of £5m will be required (details are provided in in our guidance information).

• Download a declaration of public liability insurance (PDF 89KB)

Application by a licensed premises

A premises licensed under the Licensing (NI) Order 1996 must provide details of their Liquor Licence to assist us process the application and to enable us to notify the court if your application is granted. The pavement café area will be treated as part of the licensed premises.

Management plan

If the café is to be located away from the main premises or patrons or staff will need to cross a public pavement to reach the café area, you must provide a management plan. The plan must outline how this will be done to protect the safety of staff, patrons and other people using the pavement.

Public notice  

You must fix a public notice to the premises on the day you apply to us. The notice must be positioned so the public can see it for 28 days. Interested parties can make representations to us about your licence application.
We suggest that you take a photograph showing the public notice in place and send us the photograph with your application.

We will publish licence applications on our web site until the end of the period allowed for representations.

Our guidance information includes a draft public notice template.

• Download a draft public notice for a pavement café licence application (PDF 609 KB)

Consulting other organisations

We recommend businesses discuss their proposals with adjacent property occupiers to inform them of the pavement café application.

When assessing your application we will also consult:

• DfI Roads
• Police Service for Northern Ireland where the premises are licensed to sell alcohol
• other council departments, organisations or individuals as appropriate

Hours of operation

We will set the days and hours of use for the pavement café area. We take into account location, likely disturbance to local residents, street cleaning or other businesses and representations from interested parties.

We usually grant pavement café licences for set hours between 8am and 11pm and will be reflective of the normal operating hours of the business. If the premises are licensed under the Licensing Order, a licence will not be issued beyond 11.30pm, regardless of the additional operating hours that may apply to the premises.

Granting or refusing a licence application

We consider each application on its own merits. But it may not always be possible to accommodate pavement cafés in all locations due to factors such as visual impact, width restrictions, obstructions or heavy pedestrian flow.
If there are objections to the granting of the licence from other interested parties such as DfI Roads, PSNI or other local businesses, we must take these into consideration before an application can be granted.

Objections and appeals

Objections

If we receive objections to an application which are not resolved through mediation, the application will be referred to our Licensing Committee for further consideration. If this happens, both you and anyone who objects to your application, will have the opportunity to present a case to the committee.

Appeals

If your application is refused, you can appeal the decision to the Magistrate's Court within 21 days of being notified of our decision. Licence-holders may also appeal a decision to suspend or revoke a licence or vary the area and conditions of a licence (as an alternative to revocation), or to limit the duration of a licence.

Objecting to or supporting a licence application

If you want to object to or support an application for a pavement café licence, you must send us a written submission before the closing date for objections or support. You must outline your reasons for objecting to or supporting the pavement café.

You can email your submission to pavementcafes@belfastcity.gov.uk or post:

The Building Control Manager
Building Control Service
Ground Floor
Cecil Ward Building
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP

Pavement café licence applications

When a business in Belfast applies for a pavement café licence, we publish information about their application. You can support or object to a pavement café application. There is a deadline for objecting or supporting an application. We also publish information on pavement café licences we grant. This includes the date the licence starts.

Current applications for pavement café licences

If you would like to view a licence application, you should contact us by email: pavementcafes@belfastcity.gov.uk