Draft Central Coast Outdoor Trading Specification

The Specification regulates outdoor dining (food and/or beverage consumption) and street vending (the display and sale of articles), where they are associated with an adjacent fixed business and are located within the road reserve or on public land managed by Council across the LGA. The Specification also applies to any temporary or fixed structures associated with the outdoor dining or street vending. It will not apply to private land nor public land managed by the NSW Government.

Central Coast Council encourages the use of public places and the road reserve for outdoor trading as a means of stimulating business growth and to create vibrant local communities.  This is achieved through enhancing public areas and promoting social activity. However, across the Central Coast and within individual town centres, there has been significant inconsistency among outdoor dining and street vending areas, including their structures. Additionally, there have been numerous adverse impacts associated with these areas including privatisation of public footpaths (through the installation of side barriers and security grills, for example), poor and inconsistent presentation and amenity, the blocking of natural sunlight and the obstruction of the public footpath.

This Specification now replaces the two existing policies with a single document that will achieve consistent and high-quality outcomes for outdoor dining and street vending across the Central Coast.

The Central Outdoor Trading Specifications was prepared in consultation with the relevant sections in Council including Environment Health and Systems, Community Programs, Engineering Services, Events and Placemaking, Water Assessment and Governance, as well as the Council’s Access and Inclusion Reference Group. Engagement with business owners, Terrigal in particular, was also undertaken in relation to the preferred outdoor trading structure type.

The Draft document was placed on exhibition between December 2023 and March 2024. Additionally, over 16,000 Central Coast Businesses were contacted and encouraged to provide feedback during the exhibition period and two face-to-face and one online community sessions were held.

The project objectives are to:

• Facilitate the creation of a vibrant atmosphere in appropriate areas.
• Facilitate improvements to street vitality, amenity, and economic viability.
• Ensure equitable and safe movement for a broad range of users, and
• Set out the requirements for businesses that are seeking approval to:
  • Expand their trade onto Council’s road reserve or in a public place adjacent to the fixed premises; and/or
  • Install structures within an Outdoor Trading Area.

Meeting the needs of the broadest range of users in our community to the greatest extent possible, has been a key consideration in the development of the Outdoor Trading Specification. Consideration has been given to various user groups including people pushing prams, with young children, with assistance or companion animals, using mobility aids, with sensory/over stimulation sensitivity and those entering/existing adjacent carparks. This has been done to ensure safe and equitable access is provided to the outdoor trading area as well as to the surrounding areas such as footpath, adjacent parking and shops. To achieve this Council has carefully considered appropriate clearance and separation distances, reducing physical and visual clutter and the appropriate type of lighting to be installed in any outdoor trading area. Increasing the level of accessibility to the broadest range of users possible, will also contribute to the number of people that will visit the outdoor trading area.

The Outdoor Trading Specification sets out the requirements that must be satisfied for any Outdoor Trading Area. If you would like to undertake outdoor trading in front of your business and you satisfy the requirements set out in the specification, an application will need to be submitted to Council. Details regarding what needs to be submitted with an application are outlined in the Specification. Only once an application has been approved and you comply with all relevant conditions can you undertake outdoor trading in front of your business.

Yes, approval is required to be obtained from Council prior to undertaking any outdoor trading. The Outdoor Trading Specification sets out all the application details that need to be submitted to Council as well as the requirements that must be satisfied for any outdoor trading area. If you wish to erect a fixed or temporary structures a supplementary approval will also be required.

Fixed structures attached to the main building façade, for example awnings, cannot be approved under an Outdoor Trading application. Instead, approval is required from Council under the Environment Planning and Assessment Act, rather than the Local Government Act.

Even if you have an approved outdoor trading area, a supplementary approval from Council is required for any fixed structure. The Outdoor Trading Specification sets out what you need to submit with any application for a fixed structure as well as all the requirements that must be satisfied for any fixed structure. This includes the design and materials of the fixed structure, heights, minimum setback and clearance requirements, engineering certification and so on. Only once you have approval and you have complied with any relevant conditions can a fixed structure be erected.

Over time, all Outdoor Trading Areas, including those delivered by Council, will be required to comply with the Outdoor Trading Specification. 

All new applications, including applications from new business owners where the previous business had an approval, will now be assessed in accordance with the specification.  

All existing approvals expire on 30 June 2025. Transitional arrangements for existing businesses will require that all businesses comply with the specification by that date. If a business wishes to renew their approval, approvals will only be issued where the renewal application is compliant with the specification. This will provide businesses with time to review the specification and adjust their area as necessary. 

Businesses with fixed structures will be contacted leading up to 30 June 2025. Businesses with compliant structures will have their approvals renewed for the term of their outdoor trading approvals. Businesses with non-compliant structures will be required to either update their structure to bring it into compliance or have the structure removed. 

If there are any safety concerns, or where there is non-compliance with existing approval conditions, Council may request that approvals and structures transition to comply with the specification prior to 30 June 2025. Relevant businesses will be contacted directly by Council.

Existing outdoor trading approvals cannot be transferred regardless of the approval expiration date. However, where a fixed structure has been installed, a request may be submitted to transfer ownership of the structure to the new business owner provided both the original applicant and new business owner agree to the transfer, the structure approval has not expired, the new applicant has obtained a new outdoor trading approval which includes the full area occupied by the structure, and the structure complies with the specification. 

Importantly, if Council has not granted approval to transfer ownership of the fixed structure prior to the cessation of the original use or trade or sale of the business, then the fixed structure must be removed by the original business. 

An approval for an Outdoor Trading Area will be valid for a maximum of three (3) years after the date of the approval. However, approvals may be renewed. Any application for renewal must be lodged with Council four (4) weeks prior to the expiration date. Details regarding the information that needs to be submitted with any application are provided within the Outdoor Trading Specification.

Yes. Approvals may be renewed. Any application for renewal must be lodged with Council four (4) weeks prior to the expiration date. Details regarding the information that needs to be submitted with any application are provided within the Outdoor Trading Specification.

It is important that outdoor trading areas balance the needs of all people using the surrounding area, including pedestrians, people accessing shops and people entering and exiting cars from adjacent carparking. The Outdoor Trading Specification sets out the minimum clearance and setback distances that must be provided to ensure safe and equitable movement. Various distances have been specified. For example, the minimum width of any unobstructed pedestrian path, distances from kerbs, distances to street furniture, bus stops, pedestrian crossings, and so on have been specified. All minimum distances must be maintained to ensure safe pedestrian movements can be achieved.

The Outdoor Trading Specification requires Outdoor Trading Areas on street corners to be set back a minimum of 2 metres from the alignment of the corner of any building. This is to ensure the safety of pedestrians travelling around the street corner or crossing roads as well as providing clear sightlines for vehicles using the intersection. However, if it can be demonstrated that there will be no negative impacts on the safety of pedestrians and road users, a merit-based assessment can be undertaken to determine if the corner location is suitable for Outdoor Trading.

Council’s footpaths, parks, reserves and so on are a public asset and should be available for general public use. Whilst Council supports outdoor trading in appropriate areas to add to the vitality of an area and economic viability for businesses, it is important that these outdoor trading areas are available for general public use outside of business hours. Outdoor Trading Areas can only be supported if this balance can be achieved. This is why Council does require all merchandise, furniture, temporary structures and so on to be removed outside of business hours.

Council supports outdoor trading in appropriate areas to add to the vitality of an area and economic viability for businesses. However, it is important that these areas are attractive and make a positive contribution to a place.

Signage within footpaths, parks, reserves and so on contribute to visual clutter and can have a negative impact on the appearance of an area and how a person feels, particularly when there is already signage on surrounding shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. The visual impact of this is even worse for anyone that has sensory or over-stimulation sensitivity. Additionally, signage such as A-frame signs can create trip hazards. Council wants to ensure we are creating safe and attractive places to encourage the broadest range of users as possible.

For these visual, safety and amenity reasons the Outdoor Trading Specification prohibits any form of signage, advertisement or menu board within an Outdoor Trading Area.