Islington Council has issued a directive requiring businesses to remove large portions of their outside tables and chairs or face £800 fines. To comply with updated pavement licensing rules, restaurants and bars are being told to reduce their outdoor seating capacity by an estimated 40%, according to traders.
They will also be required to create a two-metre gap between their tables and the pavement, up from the current 0.8 metres.
Al-fresco dining culture was developed at the semi-pedestrianised London street during the pandemic, when emergency measures allowed businesses to serve customers outside and helped many stay afloat.
Operators say the arrangement at Exmouth Market has continued under a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ in the six years since.
Speaking to local newspaper the Islington Tribune, which first reported the move , Gareth Kerr, who runs bar Cafe Kick, said: “They’ve come down and completely from one day to the next said, ‘you can no longer do what you’ve been doing for the last five years’.”
In August, traders adhered to the council’s tighter restrictions for the evenings, which Kerr claimed resulted in the market becoming like a ‘ghost town’. The council applied for pedestrianisation under the GLA’s Summer Streets scheme this year - a City Hall-led scheme providing funding for temporary al fresco schemes - but was rejected.
The council told the Islington Tribune: “We have not taken any formal enforcement action in relation to tables and chairs licensing at Exmouth Market.
“Those wishing to trade with tables and chairs outside are free to apply for a licence and several businesses have done so in recent weeks. “We will continue to work with traders to support understanding and compliance, while taking a fair and consistent approach for businesses, residents and other users of the street.”