The amount North Yorkshire pubs and cafes will have to pay to have outdoor seating in the street is set to more than triple.
North Yorkshire Council is planning to increase the cost of the pavement licence fee to £397.41 for new licences and £301.28 for renewals.
At present, businesses are charged between £0 and £100, with the current fees set by North Yorkshire’s former borough and district councils.
A report prepared for senior councillors stated:
“Prior to local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire, the seven district licensing authorities operated different pavement licensing regimes, the cost of which was recovered from permit holders in accordance with district authority calculations.
“Some did not charge a fee at all. The different area fees for pavement licensing remain.
“Now, North Yorkshire has one licensing team, it is important to harmonise the pavement licence fee throughout the council area.”
Council offices say the increase is needed to ensure the authority covers the cost of issuing the licences.
The report added:
“The council may consider retaining the existing licence fees for pavement licences.
“However, the fees set by the predecessor authorities vary significantly from £0 to £100, and the service would be running at a loss, and recovered unfairly elsewhere.
“Any failure to recover costs permitted by statute would require an unnecessary subsidisation of the licensing regime at the expense of the council’s taxpayers.”
Council officials say the proposed fees have been calculated with a view to recovering all costs associated with issuing the licences.
The new fees are set to be introduced from August 1, with the council able to issue licences for up to two years.
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