Street furniture charging plans condemned

A plan by Belfast City Council to cash-in on plans to allow food and drink businesses in the city to place chairs and tables on the street outside has been condemned as a “sunshine tax” by Hospitality Ulster.

The Licensing of Pavement Cafes Act (NI) 2014 comes into operation on October 1, authorising cafes, restaurants, pubs, retail outlets and takeaways to place furniture outside their premises for the use of their customers.

Belfast City Council, however, is the first local government authority to propose charging fees for the privilege. It has suggested a non-refundable application fee of £660; a renewal or variation fee of £435 and £110 for yearly inspections.

But Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster has told the council: “We don’t want these charges.”

Speaking this week, he said that while venue-owners had been waiting for the right to put tables and chairs on the street for a long time in order to boost their trade, the implementation of hundreds of pounds in fees was likely instead to hamper their businesses further:

“The hospitality  sector already pays a significant amount of rates and this is just an extra charge which we are totally against as it increases costs at a time when we are faced with a whole list of financial pressures,” Mr Neill told LCN.

“We are one of the biggest economic generators for this city and are a key part of the offer in attracting a significant amount of people. With only a few days a year when we can actually use outside seating, this is basically a ‘sunshine tax’. Why does Belfast City Council want to add another tax on us when we need to be supported?”

Hospitality Ulster has now urged every business in the city to respond to the consultation on the charges in a bid to force the council to scrap the plan.

“The message is clear”, added Mr Neill, “we don’t want these charges.”