Plans submitted to temporarily waiver roadside chair and table permit fees in Edinburgh

Business owners in the Capital could be spared hundreds of pounds as new plans have been submitted to temporarily waiver council fees for roadside chair and table permits.

The move comes as city centre businesses continue to suffer from an 85 – 90 per cent reduction in footfall on this time last year.

In an effort to support economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Edinburgh City Council are proposing to cease charging all businesses for roadside chair and table permits between July 1 and October 31 this year.

Any business that has already been granted a permit and payed fees for this period would be refunded.

Establishments that haven’t already done so would still need to apply for a permit and meet standard conditions, however no charges would be levied.

The current cost of a roadside chair and tables permit, which is calculated on a pro-rata basis, is £126.00 per square metre per annum within designated world heritage site areas and £100.00 per square metre per annum outside of world heritage site areas.

The permits enable businesses to use public pavements between 9am and 9pm, every day of the week.

The council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee will vote on the proposal to temporarily waiver fees at a meeting this Thursday.

If the plan is rejected then permit rates will be maintained at their current price.

However, the vote is expected to pass as Labour, SNP and the Liberal Democrats have declared their support.

Garry Clark, East of Scotland Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses has welcomed the council’s plans.

He said: “The Federation of Small Businesses would welcome moves by the City of Edinburgh Council to reduce the cost to businesses of opening up outdoor seating areas.

“We know that footfall in the city is a fraction of its usual levels for this time of year and businesses are facing major challenges as a result of the cancellation of the festival and staff in large offices continuing to work from home.

“Any measure that cuts business costs at a time like this is welcome and we hope that the people of Edinburgh and staycationers alike continue to support local businesses through these challenging times.”

Adam McVey Council Leader said: “As lockdown restrictions have eased allowing the reopening of outdoor areas for bars and restaurants, we’ve been speaking to individual businesses and local representative groups who’ve asked us for additional help in relation to the charges in place for tables and chairs permits to allow them to make sure that safe physical distances can be maintained when customers are visiting their premises.

“We’ve recognised that city centre businesses are suffering from severely reduced footfall because of the absence of both visitors and office workers and that this will take time to recover.

“There is an urgent need to support businesses in the immediate term which is why we are asking Committee to agree to support them by waiving these charges entirely during this very difficult trading time.”