Vale of Glamorgan cafes concerned at fee changes for pavement tables

Cafe owners say council changes will see some having to pay hundreds of pounds more for outside seating areas.

From July, Vale of Glamorgan premises must pay £150 to £750 a year depending on how many tables and chairs they have, a change from a flat rate.

The council said it was aimed at limiting the amount of space cafes take up on the pavement and making access easier for disabled people.

"The timing is bad," said Matt Holland of Wilmore's 1938 in Penarth.

The council said there had always been charges but the new approach made them "more flexible" and "cost effective" for small businesses.

Mr Holland believes the council should have given an "amnesty" through the summer as businesses continue to recover from the pandemic.

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He added: "From a business point of view you've just got to weigh up whether that area is profitable for you and if it's not, just don't take up that space.

"I think if you're using council space, using the pavement, you've got to pay for it, I think, in the long run."

Sian Fox says the past year has been "really, really hard"

Sian Fox of the town's Foxy's Deli had also hoped businesses would be given a chance to recoup some finances after a year of lockdown, before the fees came in.

She said: "To pay it now, I think, most of us in Penarth would struggle. To pay it maybe in November time for the next year would be brilliant.

It's catch-up time for everyone so I understand there is a payment [but] it's been a really, really hard year and we can't be hit with this charge now. "

Council officials said they had already delayed the fees during lockdown and rejected calls to do so for longer.

Highways maintenance manager Nathan Thomas said they would be "fairer for small businesses", reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At a recent environment and regeneration scrutiny committee, he explained that, before the pandemic, the council charged a fixed fee of £497.50 for three years regardless of how many chairs and tables cafes had outside.

However, he said little enforcement took place, with many premises having outside seating without a required licence.

"Lots of businesses historically might have had table and chair licences but generally we didn't have the resources to keep on top of it," he added.

The council says it is going to monitor street furniture belonging to restaurants and cafes more closely

"So we wanted to put a policy together so that it was clear and everybody understood."

Mr Thomas said it would allow the council to control the amount of furniture on footpaths.

"There are some businesses down Barry Island where they take full ownership of the footpaths and it's not fair for those partially sighted or using a wheelchair, pushchairs or mobility scooters," he added.

From July, annual licences will cost from £150 for one or two tables with up to eight chairs, to £750 for 11 tables or more with 40 chairs.

This means every cafe with at least three tables outdoors will have to pay more than before the pandemic - if they paid for a licence at all.

'Line in the sand'

Councillor Vince Driscoll, who represents Dinas Powys, said: "If you're being fair then you would clear the pavements. It's not going to make it any easier for the partially sighted if there are still tables and chairs there, but now you're charging for them."

Mr Thomas responded by saying licences would let the council control exactly how much space each cafe is allowed to use, restricting businesses from taking up too much.

He added the fees would cover the costs to administer the licensing scheme.

"We keep extending the date because the pandemic doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so we have had to draw a line in the sand," Mr Thomas said.

The council's deputy leader Lis Burnett said: "There have always been charges for placing furniture on pavements. Whereas previously these were set at a flat rate for three years, our new fees are set according to the number of chairs and tables a business chooses to place outside and are paid on an annual basis.

"We believe this makes them more flexible and cost effective for small businesses."