Government makes pavement licensing regime permanent

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has commenced the pavement licensing provisions laid out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, establishing a permanent pavement licensing regime for England.

The permanent scheme is based on pavement licensing provisions laid out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2020 and replaces the temporary provisions introduced in the Business and Planning Act 2020.

The news came in a letter sent by DLUHC on Tuesday (2 April) to all council leaders and chief executives of English local planning authorities.

Under the new regime, local authorities can now grant pavement licences for a length of their choosing up to a maximum of two years.

The Department said it encourages local authorities to grant businesses the maximum two years "unless there is a good reason to do otherwise".

The regime retains the key features of the 2020 regime but also incorporates some changes "to ensure the long-term sustainability of the model", the Government said.

Changes include an increase of the fee cap for a pavement license applications from £100 to £500. Renewal applications are also now capped at £350 under the scheme.

In addition, local authorities will now be able to grant pavement licenses for a length of their choosing, up to a maximum of two years.

Consultation and termination periods have increased under the regime as well, from 7 days to 14 days for each.

Councils also have new enforcement powers under the provisions that allow local authorities to amend a licence in certain circumstances and with the consent of the licence-holder.

Guidance on pavement licenses has also been updated to reflect the amendments made by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act.

Adam Carey