Coronavirus: Pavement fee waived for Swansea cafes

The council is freezing the payments for licences to place tables on pavements until April

Cafes in Swansea city centre will not be charged for licences to place tables on pavements in a bid to help them recover from the Covid-19 lockdown.

The council said it was freezing the payments until April.

Councillor Robert Francis-Davies said the move would save businesses "many thousands of pounds and give them a better chance of thriving in our post-lockdown city".

Hospitality businesses in Wales have been able to open indoors since Monday.

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Mr Francis-Davies, the council's cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, added: "Whilst keeping people safe, we want to help business as best we can at this challenging time."

David Hopkins, the council's cabinet member for delivery and operations and joint deputy leader, said: "The move will help keep people in work and give residents more safe options for eating and drinking away from their homes.

"It will allow businesses more incentive to invest in customer safety, helping towards avoiding another lockdown situation."

He said the council had also launched a fast-track licence application process, removed traffic from Wind Street for much of the day, and was offering grants of up to £8,000 for outdoor furniture.