The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has written to local authorities to confirm that the pavement licensing regime has now been made permanent.

In the letter, the department said:

"On 31 March 2024, we commenced the pavement licensing provisions laid out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. The provisions introduce a permanent pavement licensing regime in England to replace the temporary provisions introduced by the Business and Planning Act 2020. This permanent regime retains the key features of the 2020 regime, intended to streamline processing and reduce costs, but also incorporates some changes, outlined below, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the model."

Changes

1. The fee cap for a pavement licence application is increasing. It will no longer be capped at £100 but instead be capped at £500 for first time applications and £350 for renewal applications.
2. Under the permanent regime, local authorities will now also be able to grant pavement licences for a length of their choosing, up to a maximum of two years.
3. The 7-day consultation and 7-day determination periods provided under the temporary regime, will be extended to 14 days for each.
4. The new pavement licensing provisions grants local authorities’ new enforcement powers. From the commencement date, local authorities will, with the consent of the licence-holder, be able to amend the licence in certain circumstances.

The guidance has been updated to "reflect amendments made by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to the temporary pavement licensing regime set out in the Business and Planning Act 2020, making the regime permanent."