Pavement Licences
A pavement licence permits a business to use furniture placed on the highway to sell or serve food or drink and/or allow it to be used by people for consumption of food or drink supplied from, or in connection with the use of the premises.

Overview
A business which uses (or proposes to use) premises for the sale of food or drink for consumption (on or off the premises) can apply for a pavement licence. Businesses that are eligible include: public houses, cafes, bars, restaurants, snack bars, coffee shops, and ice cream parlours including where such uses form an ancillary aspect of another use, for example supermarkets, or entertainment venues which sell food and drink.
Businesses that do not use their premises for the sale of food or drink, for example salons, are ineligible. However, they can apply for permission to place furniture on the pavement under the Highways Act 1980, please contact Devon County Council Highways Department for further information.
Applying for a licence
To apply for a pavement licence you will need to:
- read our Pavement Licence Guidance (PDF, 345 KB)(opens in new tab)
- complete the Pavement Licence Application Form (PDF, 185 KB)
- provide an adequate plan of the area that you wish to use (see Pavement Licence Example Plan under downloads)
- provide additional supporting documents (as detailed in the Pavement Licence Guidance)
- pay the application fee See Fees and Charges
Once the application has been received and accepted as valid by the Licensing Authority you must post a notice on the premises to which it relates, on the same day that the consultation period starts. The notice must be easily visible and legible to the public and the applicant must ensure the notice remains in place for the whole of the 14 day public consultation period. A template notice is available under downloads.
Contact us
If you have any queries, or require help with your application, please contact the Licensing Team.
- email: licensing@torridge.gov.uk
- phone: 01237 428700
- post: Licensing Team, Torridge District Council, Riverbank House, Bideford EX39 2QG