Footway dining

Using a footpath for outdoor dining

If you operate a lawful food and drink premises (i.e. restaurants, cafes, take away food and drink premises, etc) you can apply to use the footpath in front of your business.   Find out what you need to be eligible.

What approvals are required?

Council planning approval for footway dining is required as the footway is public space and Council owns and manages it on behalf of the community. When planning approval is given for a business to use public space, a formal agreement to use the area is also required and a usage fee is charged.

All footway dining areas require:

  • Planning approval under Section 125 of the Roads Act 1993; and
  • A formal Occupation of Footway Agreement with Council for the use of the area

Footway dining planning approvals and Occupation of Footway agreements are issued for a maximum period of 7 years

Development consent under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 may be required for footway dining areas that do not meet the criteria in the compliance checklist. In the first instance, please call Customer Service on 1300 722 542 to be directed to your Place Coordinator to help.

What you will need

  • A current consent / certificate to operate an associated food and drink premises adjacent to the footway
  • Certificate of currency for public liability insurance for the business. The certificate must include:
    • Insurance coverage to the amount of 20 million; and
    • RCC as an interested party
  • A site plan illustrating the following:
    • Width of the shop/building frontage of your premises and location of any openings;
    • Width of the footpath and location of any features such as trees, public utilities, parking restrictions, bins, street furniture, crossings, traffic lights, drains/pits etc;
    • Location and distance of the kerb; The proposed location and dimensions of the footway dining area, including the total area in square metres;
      • All dimensions must be shown so that the total area can be calculated
      • Dimensions must also be shown from a fixed point that is measurable to ensure that the plaques can be place in the correct position on the footpath
      • Any existing awning attached to the premises adjoining the footway dining area.
    • See examples for
  • Photos of the site: 3-5 images of the site area which
    • Are taken from several different angles
    • Capture all fixed structures such as trees, bus stops, street furniture, parking meters, traffic lights, crossings, public utilities, bins etc
    • Show the shop front

How much does it cost?

View the fees PDF, 154.76 KB to lodge an application for footway dining planning approval. There are upfront one-time fees, and ongoing annual costs. The fees will be calculated based on what zone you are in and size of the outdoor dining area.

Note: The rates can change each financial year.

How do I apply?

A Place Coordinator from our Economic Development & Placemaking team will assist you in the rules about footway dining and to apply for permission.  In the first instance, please call Customer Service on 1300 722 542 to be directed to your Place Coordinator to help.

Footway Dining & Occupation of Footway Agreement Application Form

Can I make changes to my footway dining area?

If you wish to change the hours of operation and/or amend your footway dining area you will need to:

In the first instance, please call Customer Service on 1300 722 542 to be directed to your Place Coordinator to help.

You may also need to lodge an Application to Modify a Development Consent PDF, 170.48 KB for approvals issued under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

How do I renew my occupation of footway agreement?

The process for renewing an agreement depends on the approvals that you have and/or require.

All footway dining areas require:

  • Planning approval under the Roads Act 1993; and
  • A formal Occupation of Footway agreement with Council for the use of the area

Roads Act Approvals and Occupation of Footway agreements are issued for a maximum period of 7 years. Development consents (that have been acted on) will not lapse unless there is a condition limiting the duration of the consent.

If your planning approval under the Roads Act is about to lapse (or you do not have a current planning approval); you will need to:

Change of operator

The Roads Act requires approvals for outdoor dining to be given to the operator of the business, and not to the business or the property.

This means that when the operator of a business (with approval for outdoor dining) changes, the approval is no longer valid.

A new operator will need to get a new Roads Act approval for outdoor dining and a new Occupation of Footway Agreement by submitting an application - Footway Dining & Occupation of Footway Agreement Application Form.

Terms and Conditions

View our terms and conditions PDF, 86.59 KB

Last Updated: 1 July 2024
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