Outdoor dining must become the “norm rather than the exception” in London, one of the city’s Deputy Mayors has said.
Justine Simons OBE said the capital must look to emulate “cities like Barcelona and Paris” as she launched London’s fourth al fresco dining scheme in Westminster last Friday.
The borough has been given £50,000 from the Mayor’s £300,000 Summer Streets Fund to ensure pubs, bars and restaurants can operate outoor service from 11am-11pm until October.
Speaking from a sunny, newly pedestrianised St Martin’s Lane, the Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries said all 32 boroughs of London have been invited to get involved.
Ms Simons told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This is about reimagining London’s streets, going al fresco, and making it the norm rather than the exception.
“If we go to cities like Barcelona or Paris, it’s much more part of everyday life, isn’t it? So we want that in London. This is really the start of it. It’s starting to create a kind of sea change to imagine our city as an outdoor kind of urban environment.
“We’ve written already to all the local councils and we’ve invited them to do more al fresco. And the other thing that’s happening is we’re looking at some licensing reform.
“So we’re talking to the government about having more strategic licensing powers, and that will enable the Mayor to cut more red tape and encourage more, you know, more of the night-time economy, more al fresco.
“This is a big opportunity for London. This is a long term ambition – and we’ve made a great start.”
Image: LDRS
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City Hall analysis released last week showed that if London’s licensing resembled New York City, where the Mayor can influence rules and regulations through changes to local laws, the capital’s economy could be boosted by £2billion annually as businesses are allowed to extend their opening hours and offer al fresco dining.
Earlier this year ministers said they intend to give Sir Sadiq Khan new licensing powers which could allow him to overturn London council bans on later opening hours.
Ms Simons said any potential downsides to al fresco dining in the four areas it has currently been rolled out in – Brixton, Leyton, Shoreditch and now Westminster – had already been addressed.
Blocking traffic from passing through streets and allowing consumers to dine outdoors could raise new challenges with both vehicle congestion and criminal activity, especially the capital’s problems with phone snatching.
“There’s been no problems so far,” she told the LDRS.
“It’s such a popular scheme, I think in the pandemic, you know, we really saw this quick move to al fresco, and it was hugely popular, and businesses have really been crying out for it.
“So this is a great opportunity to bring that back and make it, you know, more part of the everyday life of the city. Businesses are really behind it. Safety is top priority, but we’re doing a lot of work.
“The Met have funded extra police officers in hotspots. So where they are aware that there are particular issues, we’re able to kind of move the capacity into those areas.”
Mark Williams, Deputy Chief Executive of Heart of London Business Alliance, told the LDRS: “I’m very enthusiastic and we’re really grateful that this road was chosen as one of the trials.
“I know Westminster Council and the Mayor’s Office are very keen to encourage and promote outdoor dining, and I know these four test schemes are crucial to sort of judge it, see how the traders appreciate it, see if there are any issues caused by it. It’s a sort of test bed, and I’m very hopeful it will grow from here.
“For the core West End, which is where I represent, we would like to see outside dining expanded and encouraged in all appropriate areas where it’s possible.”
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