You must meet a number of terms and conditions if you apply for a pavement licence.
- Permission to locate outdoor furniture within the licensed area does not imply an exclusive right to the area of public highway. The operator should be aware that the Highway Authority and others (for example police, statutory undertakers) will need access at various times (including emergencies) for maintenance, installation, special events, improvements etc. This may mean that the outdoor seating area will need to cease operating for a period of time. On these occasions there would be no compensation for loss of business.
- Woking Borough Council requires evidence that the licensee has third party insurance cover from a reputable company for the operation of the outdoor seating area. The minimum level of indemnity must be £5 million in respect of any one incident.
- Woking Borough Council is empowered to remove and store or dispose of furniture from the highway, at the cost of the licensee, if it is left there outside the permitted hours, or should any conditions of the licence be ignored. The Council will not be responsible for its safekeeping.
- An unimpeded pedestrian route must be maintained at all times for people wishing to use the footway.
- Emergency routes to the premises and adjacent buildings must not be obstructed by the outdoor furniture, which should not, in normal circumstances, extend beyond the width of the premises frontage.
- Tables and chairs should be of an approved type and should be kept in a good state of repair. Furniture should be placed so as not to obstruct driver sightlines, or road traffic signs. Placement of café tables, chairs and other furniture must allow pedestrians to use the footway parallel to the frontage of the premises. Care should be taken in the use of hanging baskets, awnings, protruding umbrellas etc. Patio heaters must not be used.
- All potential obstructions must be removed from the public highway when the premises are closed to prevent a safety hazard to pedestrians, particularly during the hours of darkness.
- The licensee should ensure that the outdoor seating area operates in a safe manner, thereby ensuring that any safety risk or nuisance to other users of the public highway is minimised.
- The operation of the outdoor area must not interfere with highway drainage arrangements.
- Any proposals to provide additional lighting to the outdoor area must be discussed and cleared with Surrey Highways lighting staff.
- Woking Borough Council requires that all detritus (food and drink remnants, bottles, cans, wrappers etc.) be regularly removed from the footway surface to reduce hazards to pedestrians. The highway is to be washed down at the completion of each day’s usage.
- Any costs incurred as a result of damage to the highway, due to the positioning of tables, chairs and other furniture, will be recovered in full from the licensee by Woking Borough Council as the licensing authority.
- The licensee is responsible for ensuring that the conditions of the pavement licence and relevant planning permission are adhered to.
- The pavement licence must be displayed on the premises with a plan of the agreed layout of the area licensed.
- Woking Borough Council reserve the right to rescind this licence at any time if any of the above conditions are not complied with.