Supporting hospitality street trading

Our local businesses, including cafes, bars and restaurants, are important to our community. As we emerge from the pandemic, we want to promote outdoor trading and restore confidence for residents to return to our high streets, as well as supporting the local economy to thrive.

Enabling outdoor trading

Barnet Council has developed a fast track and discounted application process to access Pavement Licences until 30th September 2023.

This process has helped businesses to address capacity restrictions, and also encouraged the safe return of customers to hospitality businesses by providing safe and vibrant outdoor spaces.

Businesses adopting street space

For a number of businesses in town centres access to external space is not straightforward. We have set up the Temporary Town Centre Street Space Fund to support these businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, to trade on the street space outside their premises.

Successful applicants will be provided with temporary, wooden, planted barriers to create a pleasant, safe and enclosed trading space. In most cases, these businesses use a section of the wide pavement, or temporarily use car parking spaces in front of their property.

Please note that all participating businesses are expected to uphold a Pavement License to trade from the space.

This could look like the following at Bluebelles of Portobello, Mill Hill:

In delivering this project, the Council has partnered with GROW, an initiative of the Totteridge Academy. GROW will be using the project as a part of their education programme that provides local young people and adults aged 17 – 25 years with training to pursue careers in horticulture.

Any comments regarding the scheme can be addressed to towncentres@barnet.gov.uk.