Agenda item

The Building Control Manager reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 13th December, 2023, it had agreed to the implementation of a permanent pavement café licensing scheme, subject to officers continuing to engage with Guide Dogs NI, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (Imtac) in relation to concerns which they had raised during the public consultation, in order that the guidance for the scheme would reflect best practice.  The Committee had also agreed that those three organisations be invited to attend the next meeting to outline any concerns which they had.

            The Committee was advised that, since the December Committee meeting, officers had met with all three groups to discuss their concerns and that those discussions had proved beneficial.  The Building Control Manager outlined that officers would continue to engage with the groups over the coming weeks as the scheme got underway.

            The Members were advised that officers had provided the groups with an update on the guidance document and on proposed Licence Conditions, which would address some of the concerns raised by Imtac and Guide Dogs NI, in particular regarding pavement cafes not spreading out to take up more space than approved and to allow for the safe passing of pedestrians.

            It was reported that it was discussed that DFI Roads was currently working and engaging with Councils and representatives of disability groups on a Northern Ireland wide guidance document to assist DFI staff, Councils and stakeholders in assessing pavement café licence applications in relation to highway considerations.  The Committee was advised that the guidance dealt primarily with the unobstructed footway widths adjacent to pavement cafes on public pavements, the siting of furniture, lighting and enclosures.  The Building Control Manager confirmed that it was the Council’s intention that any finalised technical guidance document produced by DFI would become or be incorporated into the Council's technical guidance.

            The Members were advised that both Imtac and Guide Dogs NI wanted the Council guidance to specify a minimum of 2 metres unobstructed footway width.  The Building Control Manager explained that the Belfast guidance document for temporary pavement cafes contained a minimum pavement width of 2 metres clearance, with a reduction to 1.5metres in constrained environments.  He advised the Committee that it was the intention that that wording be part of the Belfast guidance until the finalised DFI guidance was produced.  It was also agreed that in some areas of high football, such as pedestrianised areas and near bus stops, that a minimum of 2metres would not be sufficient and that would be made clear in the Belfast guidance until the final DFI guidance was available.

            Imtac had also raised concerns about tactile paving, or the approach to it, being obstructed.  Officers had previously raised the issue with DFI and it would be incorporated into Belfast guidance until the finalised DFI guidance was available.  Concerns in relation to the preferred means of enclosure of pavement cafes was also raised and further consideration would take place in relation to that issue.

            The Federation of Small Businesses had raised concerns regarding the timing of the consultation and the transition period.  The Building Control Manager outlined that officers had informed FSB that all licensees had been contacted following the December meeting of the Licensing Committee and had bene provided with information about the permanent scheme and the 4 month implementation period.  Officers had also visited almost 90 unlicensed operators to date, to discuss the scheme and that engagement would continue.

            The FSB had been reassured by officers that the Council would not require existing pavement cafes to cease operating during the transition period and that any enforcement action would be graduated and proportional going forward.

            The Members were advised that an information seminar had been arranged in the City Hall on 15th February for businesses to attend and learn about the scheme and the requirements for applying.  Imtac and Guide Dogs NI had been invited to speak at the event to give attendees an overview of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities and the importance of certain design features in relation to pavement cafes.

            Furthermore, the Building Control Manager advised the Committee that Imtac and Guide Dogs NI had offered to undertake walkabouts in the City Centre with the officers who would be dealing with pavement café applications, to give an insight into the needs of people with various disabilities.

            The Committee was advised that officers were continuing to engage with DFI Roads and would be attending a consultation meeting later that month, convened by the Department, concerning its draft NI wide guidance.

The Committee was advised that a representative from Guide Dogs NI had advised that he could no longer attend the meeting and his written submission was circulated to the Members of the Committee.

            In response to a member’s question, the Building Control Manager advised the Committee that, while enforcement action had not been taken against businesses under the temporary scheme, appropriate action would be taken against businesses who failed to comply with the terms of the permanent scheme.  He added that, more often that not, businesses worked with the Council to reach a satisfactory outcome to any such complaints.

            In response to a further Member’s question regarding the likely timeframe for the publication of the DFI Roads guidance on Pavement Cafes, the Building Control manager stated that the guidance was due to have been produced in 2016 and that he did not foresee it being finalised anytime soon. 

The City Solicitor confirmed to the Committee that there was no onus on the Council to wait for the statutory guidance from the Department of Infrastructure and that such guidance regularly followed legislation.

            A number of further Members stated that it was important that the Council would proceed with its scheme in the absence of the DFI guidance, given the substantive work which had been carried out by officers.

            The Chairperson welcomed Mr. N. Hutcheson, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to the meeting.  He thanked the officers for their work on the scheme to date and he explained that he appreciated that it was not always easy to balance the social, accessibility and economic sides of such a policy.  He advised the Committee that while the FSB wanted to see a permanent scheme introduced, the compressed timescales had been challenging for small businesses and the time of year that the consultation had been carried out had not been ideal.

However, he welcomed the Committee’s decision to extend the transition period to the end of April 2024.  He stated that FSB felt that the Council should have waited for the DFI guidance to be released in order to avoid a situation where a business, having gained a licence for a pavement café, might then have to change aspects if the DFI guidance was to differ.  He welcomed the assurances that officers had provided in relation to continued engagement in relation to the scheme and that any changes that were deemed necessary as time went on would not be sudden. 

He suggested that a time-bound reference group be established for three to six months, comprising key stakeholders and officers, to ensure a smooth transition.  Furthermore he suggested that press releases and social media be used to highlight that a regime change was taking place in respect of pavement cafes.  He stated that it was important that officers would continue to reach out to those businesses which were operating unlicensed pavement cafes.  He added that it would be useful if the Council could publish data in relation to the number of applications made to the scheme and the reasons why any applications had been refused in order to take stock.

            The Chairperson thanked Mr. Hutcheson for his presentation.           

            The Building Control Manager confirmed to the Committee that a press release was being prepared to ensure that businesses were aware of the scheme and that there was no issue with establishing a time-bound reference group to continue the engagement with the key stakeholders as Mr. Hutcheson had suggested.  He also stated that officers were continuing to try to speak with all unlicensed pavement café owners.

            In response to a Member’s question, the Building Control Manager explained that the guidance document would be a “live” document and would be subject to change.  He confirmed that the two metre clearance would be the default position but that some discretion would need to be used in certain cases, for example, where there was not quite 2 metres clearance available to a premises.  He added that the Council’s guidance could, in fact, be more stringent than the guidance that DFI produce.

            The Chairperson then welcomed Mr. B. Bailie and Mr. M. Lorimer, representing the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (Imtac), to the meeting.  Mr. Bailie thanked the officers for their continued engagement with them to date.  He stated that footways were for the safe and efficient movement of people, separate from traffic, and that was what made towns, city centres and the public realm attractive for everyone, without fears for safety or wellbeing.  He added that Imtac wished to see a consistent approach across all Council areas. 

Mr. Lorimer advised the Members that the footway width was the biggest concern, and that two metres clearance should be the minimum. He stated that a scheme which proposed to deliberately reduce footway widths was not consistent with Inclusive Streets, nor did it comply with statutory equality duties on public bodies in Northern Ireland.

He added that there was a recognition that greater widths were required in areas of higher footfall and that they would require further information as to when that would apply, and by how much.

He explained that they also wished to see the continuous enclosure of pavement cafes, not just two sides, in order that they were accessible to all users.

He stated that a full Equality Impact Assessment would be called for at some point in relation to DFI or Council guidance, as reducing footway widths had a clear detrimental impact on disabled people, older people and those with dependents.

The Chairperson thanked the representatives from Imtac for their presentation.

            At the request of a Member, the Committee agreed that a representative from the Department for Infrastructure be invited to attend the next meeting in order to provide an update on the Department’s draft guidance for Pavement Cafés.

            The Committee further noted the contents of the report and the continuing engagement which officers were undertaking with Imtac, Guide Dogs NI and the Federation of Small Businesses NI.