​Highway Use Challenges Continue to Hinder the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry in England has long faced well-documented challenges such as staffing shortages, rising business rates, and increasing operational costs. However, one issue that has received less attention is the complex and often frustrating regulations governing the use of highways for outdoor seating and customer entertainment. The origins of this issue date back to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered how the sector operated.

During the pandemic, the UK Government introduced the Business and Planning Act 2020 as a temporary measure to promote public safety and help struggling hospitality businesses. By allowing external seating arrangements in streets and loading bays, the Act enabled establishments to serve customers outdoors. This legislation was welcomed by businesses as a lifeline, offering a faster, simpler, and cheaper alternative to the older Highways Act 1980, which required extensive planning permission.

Many local authorities embraced these measures, closing roads and re-purposing public spaces to create vibrant outdoor dining areas. For a time, this provided much-needed relief to an industry hit hard by lockdowns and restrictive trading conditions.

However, the hospitality sector began facing new challenges as the government extended these temporary provisions and later made them permanent in March 2023 under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. While the Act aimed to create a permanent, streamlined process, the lack of consultation with local authorities and industry stakeholders has resulted in confusion and inconsistency.

Unprepared for the new legislation, local authorities have implemented a patchwork of rules. The transition from the Business and Planning Act to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act has been seamless in some areas. In others, the application process for pavement permits has become mired in bureaucracy. Some authorities have imposed stricter conditions, limiting hours of operation or preventing customers from standing in designated areas, leading to frustration for many business owners.

Further complicating matters, some previously approved permits have been rejected upon renewal despite being identical to earlier applications. In such cases, additional bureaucratic hurdles have arisen, such as new officers discovering minor discrepancies in previously accepted plans. This inconsistency has left hospitality businesses struggling with unnecessary delays, stress, and financial strain.

Critics argue that much of this confusion could have been avoided had the government provided clearer guidance or conducted more thorough consultations before making the legislation permanent. Without adequate preparation or understanding of how local authorities operate, the industry has been left to navigate an unpredictable regulatory landscape.

While the intention behind the new legislation was to support the hospitality sector, the reality has been more challenging. There is hope that, over time, local authorities will adopt a more pragmatic approach, as originally intended by the Business and Planning Act, to ease the burden on businesses. For now, however, many in the industry remain caught in a complex web of regulations, with bureaucratic obstacles in progress.