Umbrellas Up Again

PARASOLS reappeared outside a cafe after the landlord took them down claiming council officers demanded a pavement license although no application is listed on the council website.
Outdoor tables and chairs were proving popular at Bes 77 cafe on Lansdowne Road, Shelthorpe, Loughborough but owner Fatjola Ponari put them away saying Charnwood Borough Council told him he must hold a pavement license.
Although the tables are again frequented by many customers from morning until closure there’s no application for a license, with a 28-day consultation period, listed on the council website and the cafe isn’t one of this year’s successful applicants.
“Yes I definitely have now been given a license,” said Mr Ponari. “Active immediately I paid £380 for it,” he said.
Exterior refreshment areas on the side of the road must be agreed by councils under the 2020 business and planning act.
A notice was put up on the door of the premises but only for a day and not eeting the council’s stipulated 14 day period.
The recently – opened outlet has become a busy meet – up spot serving coffee as well as smoothies, milk shakes and snacks and the outdoor tables are popular.
Previously a long – standing, second – hand furniture shop and already part – laid with decking in anticipation of the summer months it’s the second attempt in a decade to open an independent coffee bar on the strip of shops after the last one failed.
The council website states it can only consider applications for an area that is part of the maintained highway within Charnwood borough, approval isn’t automatic and no furniture can be placed on the highway until a license has been issued.
The levelling up and regeneration act 2023 stipulates from March 31st ‘24 the process from submission to decision be within 28 days and grants councils’ new enforcement powers.
“It’s the people with dogs and in wheelchairs I’m sorry for,” said barista Cherie.