Dealing with local authorities

There is a common misconception that planning officers will be as obstructive as possible. In fact most are very sympathetic but must follow comprehensive guidelines to prevent damage to neighbourhoods, important buildings and protected areas.

Many developments will not require permission but ALWAYS consult your local planning department before carrying out any works or you may be forced to take down anything you have built.

When considering an application, try to put yourself in the position of the planning officials and think about the following:

• Will your design improve the 'look' of your premises and its location?
• Are there other examples nearby that you can copy?
• Does your idea complement the age and architecture of your premises?
• Will the area cause any problems for the general public or neighbours?

These considerations are particularly important if you have a listed building or are situated in a conservation area. Anything you do must be 'restorative' to give you the best chance of acceptance.

You should apply for permission as soon as you are sure your plans will comply with the regulations. Remember you should expect at least 6 to 8 weeks for a decision, but delays of months are not uncommon.

Click here to find your local planning department and other useful contacts and sources of advice, or here for a timetable to help you organise your applications in time.

Click here to see the planning process for England and Wales or here for a walkthrough of the processes.

For planning advice for Northern Ireland please click here.

For planning advice for Scotland please click here.

Potentially one of the most legally complex areas when developing your outdoor space as the licensing laws across the UK are either in the process of changing or have recently been changed.

Depending on where you are, you may or may not, need to apply for a variation or even a totally new license, to permit customers to drink outside.Scottish operators in particular could have more problems than most in gaining licenses for outside accommodation.

• Several local authorities employ local byelaws to prohibit the consumption of alcohol anywhere outside where customers may be seen by the public. They can apply byelaws in many ways to create conditions on your licenses or on planning applications.

• In some areas you will need supplementary 'Certificates of Suitability' from Planning, Environmental Services and Building Control. These must be submitted to the licensing board 6 weeks in advance of the relevant licensing board meeting and also attract charges.

• If you have to apply for a totally new license any regulations with which you have not yet complied can be enforced before the license is given. This could include complying with the disability laws - putting in new toilets and access etc - so think carefully about whether you can achieve an area without the need to renew your license, or if you must, how you will afford to make any supplementary changes required.

In England and Wales the new licensing regime means that some premises may already have all their outdoor areas licensed.

• If you simply converted your existing license then you will have been asked to mark on your floor plans the areas of licensable activity and were consumption would take place. If you didn’t include any garden or outdoor space then it is likely customers will not be able to take their drinks outside with them.

• If you applied for a variation or made a new application then you did not have to mark on areas where customers could consume alcohol. In this case there is no law preventing your customers from taking their drinks outside BUT...

• BE CAREFUL. You may well have conditions on your license. If you do you may need to apply for a new variation. There are two conditions which you should be particularly wary of:

Unsealed containers - Even though you applied for a variation or a new application there may be a clause which precludes customers from taking alcohol outside in unsealed containers. This means they can buy alcohol from you, but they must take it outside sealed and cannot consume it outside.

Readmission – It may be a condition of you license that customers are not allowed to go out and come back into your premises after a certain time (e.g. 10pm). This would include going outside for a cigarette.

If you are at all unsure, refer to your local licensing board or speak to a qualified licensing lawyer or click here to find useful links that explain the licensing laws in your area.

Potential nuisance to neighbours will be considered before any variation or license change is agreed. This could mean limiting the time service is permitted outside, at which point you must make sure customers only drink inside. In some cases you will have to take any furniture in with you as well, particularly if you are using part of a public footpath.

Before using any public footpath it is likely that you will need to apply separately to your local authority for permission – for which you will almost certainly need to pay an annual fee - and in some cases also to the Highways department. This can be expensive and permission will depend on the size of the pavement available and the location of your premises.

Licensing decisions are made at local level so it is important you speak either to your local licensing board or a qualified lawyer before you submit your applications. They could help you make small amendments to your plans that will reduce the licensing burden and make the process far easier and faster for you.

For an example time planner click here.

For up to date advice and helpful hints from expert licensing lawyers click here

If you are creating any kind of fixed structure (e.g. brick or glass built) it is likely you will require Building Control approval. The same may be true of large fixed 'jumbrellas'. Your planning officer should be able to advise you whether building control should be involved.

Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) have been tasked with enforcement in Scotland and are likely to be the 'smoke police' in England, Northern Ireland and Wales also. They are usually consulted on planning applications and will be most concerned about noise & light pollution and, of course, the potential litter issues.

Keep in mind how you can minimise these impacts and you should receive a better reception to any application.

Enforcement guidance for local authorities will likely be very similar to the Scottish guidance. Here EHOs were advised to use a 'light touch' in the first few weeks and work with licensees and managers experiencing compliance issues rather than fining them immediately for non-compliance. This partnership stance may explain the low numbers of penalty notices given either to smokers or to operators so far, and has certainly eased the transition to smoke free.

The majority of EHOs are more interested in achieving a good result – i.e. high compliance – than handing out penalty notices. In reality fines are a deterrent for those who blatantly ignore the law or refuse to comply with the regulations.