Late-night licences for pavement cafes

Wakefield Council has approved extended opening hours for pavement cafes

Businesses in Wakefield will be able to serve outdoor food and drink later at night in a move which would help the city "feel alive after dark".

Wakefield Council has approved extended opening hours for pavement cafes across the district, allowing them to open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays instead of 22:00.

The new opening hours will be in place until June next year when they could be made permanent, the licensing meeting was told.

Jack Hemingway, the council's cabinet member for regeneration and economic growth, said it was a "welcome move" and something hospitality venues had been asking for.

The committee voted unanimously in favour of the changes at a meeting on Wednesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The move was supported by the council's city centre management group Wakefield Business Improvement District (BID) and Daniel Wilton, the council's cabinet member for communities.

Councillors were told a consultation, to involve the public, police and environmental health officers, would be carried out over the winter.

According to figures in February this year, there were 51 active pavement cafe licences recorded in the district, including 37 in Wakefield, seven in Pontefract and two in Castleford.

Thomas Wales, chief executive of Wakefield BID, said: "This is a really positive step forward for Wakefield.

"Extending outdoor trading hours gives our hospitality businesses the flexibility they've been asking for and helps create a more sociable, welcoming city centre in the evenings.

"It's a small change with a big impact - supporting jobs, boosting business, and helping Wakefield feel alive after dark."

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