Roadside chair and table permit fees in Edinburgh to be temporarily suspended

Business owners in the Capital will be spared hundreds of pounds as new plans to temporarily waive council fees for roadside chair and table permits have been officially approved.

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 will 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 will be refunded.

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

Currently, the 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 voted unanimously to approve temporarily ending permit fees at a meeting today.

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 need support due to the absence of both office workers and visitors and this will take time to recover. There is an urgent need to support businesses in the immediate term and I’m delighted that Committee has agreed to support them by waiving these charges entirely during this very difficult trading time. This will not only help businesses expand their footprint to help improve trading viability but also help maintain the pedestrian space and access, particularly for families and people with mobility issues or sight impairment.”

Cammy Day, Depute Leader, said: “This is yet another move we can make which will make the coming weeks and months a little less challenging for businesses. For the local economy to recover, we also need to see greater footfall to small businesses and a new campaign will launch next week to draw residents and visitors back to their favourite places for shopping and visiting.

“This is alongside all of the steps we’ve already taken to support our high streets, like directing £112.5m to businesses in support grants and widening pavements and cycleways to make it easier and more enjoyable to visit town centres. It will also be supported by the local Champions Network which we’re setting up to provide us with a direct link to businesses, so that we can monitor the challenges they face and the help they need.”