Changes to Permanent Paving Licence Scheme

The transition to the Permanent Paving licence regime in England that was introduced under the Business & Planning Act 2020 has not been without challenges.

Initially, this came in as an adaptable solution to the unprecedented situation created by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. As of 31st March this year it became a permanent measure, complete with a spate of adjustments.

So what do you need to know about this change?

There has been an increase to the maximum fees councils can charge for applications – now up to £500 for new applications and £350 for renewals. As well as this, consultation periods have been extended to 14 days per case, with the maximum length available for licenses growing to 24 months.

Naturally, licensing committees across the UK are currently ratifying the scheme and will following this set the fees they are going to charge for facilitating applications and the lengths they will give licences for.

Recently, the majority of licences have been issued for periods of 12 months and some suspect this will continue.

If a business already has a valid licence obtained under a previous regime, such as the Highways Act licence, they will need to be aware that these are being phased out to shift completely to the new Permanent Paving licences. So for these businesses, when their existing licence expires, they will have to apply for a Permanent Paving licence and there may be tricky nuances to navigate in that shift, with what was covered in the old licence compared to what is with the new one.

Furthermore, things may differ slightly in London. So far there is no legislation to state that Highways Act licences cannot continue in London, whereas there is for the majority of other districts. Businesses taking advantage of these licences in London will have to keep abreast of updates to see if they too will have to shift.

For more information on the Permanent Paving licence, click here to read the full report in The Morning Advertiser.