A BISTRO owner has lambasted the licensing authority for charging him to put tables and chairs outside the premises.
The owner of Bruschetta on Witton Street in Northwich says al fresco licences enforced by Cheshire County Council across Mid Cheshire are un-fair and will leave his business struggling to compete.
The owner, who didn't want to be named, said: 'I'm being asked to pay £450 for this licence and £250 per year after that, which is unfair. The tables and chairs outside are only used during the summer months, and yet I have to pay for a whole year.
'Every premises around here pays rates by the square metre - the bigger your shop the more you pay. That's fair, but I have to pay the same flat rate for outside the front of my shop as others who have a much wider space, so someone else can put eight or 10 tables at the front where I can only fit two.'
He said the licences were having a detrimental effect on the area. He said: 'Northwich town centre is dying, people only come here to shop and then they leave, there is nothing to do in the town. People like me are trying
to encourage people to stay around but it's difficult enough as it is to make a living as it is and the licence fee will make it even more difficult.
'They also want me to put bollards up at the sides of my shop to fence off the seating area, yet the cobbles themselves are in a terrible state - the ground is uneven and the tables wobble, so I'm being asked to pay for something I can barely make use of.'
A county council spokeswoman said: 'We have a duty in the interests of public safety to ensure the highway is free of hazards. The licence was introduced to ensure tables and chairs are not causing an obstruction to pedestrians.
'The fees cover the costs of staff time in setting up and administering the licence and compare very favourably with charges imposed by many other local authorities.'
But she did say the council intended to lower the fees to create more cosmopolitan eating areas. She said: 'In order to encourage more establishments to set up outside dining areas, the fees are due to drop to £260 in the first instance and then £60 a year after that. Businesses should be getting letters about this soon.'
