Outdoor café culture is set to become a permanent fixture of Britain’s streets under plans to give venues the right to offer al-fresco service.
The rules were first relaxed last year to make it easier for businesses to serve customers outside when indoor Covid-19 restrictions were in place.
Now ministers say that they want the changes to be permanent to reinvigorate town centres as part of the government’s “levelling-up agenda”, set out yesterday by Boris Johnson.
The high-street strategy, announced by Johnson during the speech at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry, will also expand space for pedestrians and create low-traffic neighbourhoods.
But it will come at a price, with the industry paying for a £10m fund to help councils to clean up gum from the streets and a further £2m to tackle graffiti.
Empty shops will also be allowed to become entertainment venues or new businesses without the need for planning permission.
The government also published details of how community groups can apply for up to £250,000 in matched funding to take over pubs, theatres, shops and sports grounds at risk of closure.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “With more funding for town centres and powers for communities to take a stake in their local area, we are delivering on our commitments to level up.”
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