Al fresco dining fund hopes to boost summer trade

Councils in London will be able to apply for funding to help increase outdoor dining in the capital this summer.

A City Hall "summer streets" fund of £400,000 is to be available to help cafes, bars and restaurants expand street seating areas and extend their opening hours in time for the football World Cup.

Grants of up to £100,000 could be awarded for large-scale pedestrianisation projects, and smaller venues could be granted up to £10,000 to help increase their capacity.

It follows a similar scheme last summer, when streets in Lambeth, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Westminster were transformed into open-air dining areas.

The return of outdoor eating and drinking in central London supported community events and increased footfall, according to Sir Sadiq Khan, who said he wanted this summer to be "the biggest ever summer for al fresco dining in our capital's history".

The fund will be open for applications in April, with boroughs and partners expected to provide match funding.

Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality welcomed the news and said she encouraged boroughs to "move quickly and take advantage" of the money.

Sir Sadiq is currently consulting on new licensing practices across the capital, after the government agreed to hand some of those powers to the mayor.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk