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Cafes' plea over 'excessive' alfresco licence fees

News imageLove Lyme Regis Larry Gibbons and Tom Robinson stand outside their cafes which are next door to each other. Tom is wearing a white chef's jacket and has his arms folded. Larry is wearing black jeans and a jacket and has his hands in his pockets.Love Lyme Regis
Larry Gibbons (left) and Tom Robinson both pay thousands in pavement licence fees

Cafe and restaurant owners on a Dorset seafront have said they are being hit with excessive charges by their town council for offering alfresco dining.

Eateries on Marine Parade, Lyme Regis, said they paid thousands of pounds to put tables and chairs on the pavement, despite the the charge being capped at £500 for new licences and £350 for renewals.

They said Lyme Regis Town Council was "exploiting a loophole" because it claimed ownership of the promenade, rather than it being a public highway.

The council said it was "in discussions with Dorset Council about the use of the land and it would be inappropriate to comment further".

News imageTom's Lyme Regis Empty tables under a canopy on the promenade outside Tom's Lyme Regis restaurant. In the distance is the beach and harbour wall and a colourful sunset sky.Tom's Lyme Regis
Tom's seafood restaurant pays £3,500 a year for outdoor seating

"What we are asking for is a bit of compassion," explained Tom Robinson, chef and owner of Tom's Lyme Regis.

He said the seafood restaurant's £3,500 annual pavement licence charge was on top of a multitude of financial challenges affecting the wider hospitality sector.

"It's the morality of the issue," he said. "They are willing to exploit loopholes to charge us what they want.

"The other question is the legality of the matter.

"They use a system where they have a set fee based on the number of tables and chairs – but at that point in time when the law changed, they found a loophole and the charges have continued to go up."

News imageLove Lyme Regis View looking down on cafe tables and red umbrellas outside a cafe on the promenade at Lyme Regis. It's a sunny summer's day and people are sitting at the tables, walking along the promenade and the beach and shore is packed with people.Love Lyme Regis
Largigi Cafe says it pays £4,500 to the town council for its outside tables and chairs

Robinson, who says he works about 75 hours a week, said: "I've made three redundancies in a year – we have restructured our business, people have lost their jobs.

"I work more and my wife works more – it's unsustainable.

"Half the year, no-one sits out there anyway so those tables and chairs don't make any money."

Next door to Tom's, Largigi Cafe is in a similar situation, with its pavement licence costing £4,500 a year.

Owner Larry Gibbons said the hospitality industry was "on its knees" but the "excessive and potentially unlawful" charges continued to increase.

News imageLove Lyme Regis Largigi owner Larry Gibbons stands outside his cafe among the tables and chairs. He is wearing a yellow zipped-up hoody, his arms are folded and he has a serious expression.Love Lyme Regis
Largigi owner Larry Gibbons said the hospitality sector was already "on its knees"

He said, despite numerous meetings and emails, he was "yet to receive a reasonable justification as to why national pavement licence legislation does not apply in Lyme Regis".

He said: "Marine Parade is publicly accessible, is listed as a highway in the National Street Gazetteer as maintainable at public expense, with Dorset Council named as the maintaining authority, and is subject to a Public Spaces Protection Order across its full extent.

"This provides irrefutable evidence that it is a public space and that the pavement licence legislation should apply."

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the concerns of some cafes in Lyme Regis. We are in discussions with the town council and hope to have a resolution soon."

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