Alfresco Dining Front & Centre

Sipping your favourite tipple on the street as the sun goes down, or dining alfresco will now require the café owner to hold a council permit. The new amended Public Places Bylaw has been adopted by Waipa District Council and will become effective from 1 January 2004 to ensure pedestrian safety and to standardise the rules for street side dining.

Waipa District council has undertaken an extensive survey of hospitality and café business owners in the urban areas of the district to develop a suitable policy on footpath dining. While the restrictions should ease community concerns, the intention of the bylaw is to make public places safer by limiting the area that can be used, to ensure a clean hygienic streetscape, and to maintain a level of quality control over furniture standards.

The bylaw gives Council the ability to take remedial action if required.

"We spoke extensively to café owners as we drafted the policy amendments, their input was invaluable in developing a policy that was fair and equitable while ensuring we demonstrated our support for the growing café culture in the district. We've found an excellent compromise through good consultation " says Chris Clarke, Roading Manager at Waipa District Council.

The new policy ensures tables and chairs can only be outside the permitted premises, must be of a good standard, the area must be kept clean and hygienic and chairs & tables may only be on the footpath during business hours.

The small fee for the permit is based on the size of the required area and is used to defray expenses incurred in monitoring and issuing the permits.

Concerns expressed by community groups have been addressed and café operators can now effectively develop a café and street dining culture with confidence.