The Lib Dems have been working with other Councillors from Minority Groups to call on Rochford District Council to be ambitious in looking at ways to support active travel such as walking and cycling and bid for funding from the £2billion allocated by the Government.
The Secretary of State recognised that it is a “once in a generation opportunity to deliver a lasting transformative change in how we make short journeys in our towns and cities”.
Alongside this, we have been asking Rochford District Council to work with other local authorities to implement schemes to enable our local businesses to open up safety and provide opportunities to make experimental changes.
A group of 17 MPs from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens have written to the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, asking him to relax the current laws on how food and drink businesses can operate.
They said: “The Government must allow businesses to place tables and chairs outside premises, provided that they have local authority consent and that this does not cause an obstruction to people with reduced mobility.”
Giving our local businesses and residents opportunities to allow greater use of outdoor spaces could be paramount to the survival of many of those in the hospitality trade, particularly in Rayleigh. MP’s have echoed our calls to Council leaders and today have asked the Government to relax licencing laws to allow restaurants, bars and pubs to put out tables into closed streets and other spaces.
Turn our towns into open-air cafes by giving restaurants and bars the right to spill out into streets, MPs urge Government
The Councils have the powers to implement the changes so what’s stopping them? We’ve heard Rochford District Councils leaders talk the talk, now surely it’s time for them to walk the walk?