From June to October Gusto, PingQuay, Balthazar and Mora will be able to use the whole pavement for al fresco dining seven days a week.
Planters will be placed along the unloading bays in front of these establishments to mark out an alternative walkway for pedestrians.
Director of PinQuay Simon Allum said that as the buildings along The Quay had evolved into bars and restaurants, opportunities for locals and visitors should evolve, too.
‘Ideally we would like to see traffic reduced even further along the front, but you have to take it step by step – you can’t just leap into something,’ he said.
‘At the moment it can be carnage because it’s a very busy road but we hope that eventually we can encourage more cars away from the front.’
Recognising that people would likely not enjoy having exhaust fumes mixing with their dinner, he was pleased with the plans to move the pavement into the unloading bay, creating a spacial and physical barrier between diners and vehicles.
Al fresco dining outside Mora has been popular in the past, but owner Nello Ciotti would like to see the licensing process made simpler and cheaper.
‘I really admire the initiative to increase outside dining but I do think the whole thing should not be so cumbersome.’
In previous years, establishments taking part were charged about £150 for the licence, for which they had to reapply each season.
‘It’s very time-consuming and expensive.
‘Couldn’t it just be combined into the cost of the licence for the whole restaurant?’ he asked.
Mora has a couple of tables outside the front door already, but come June, when the al fresco dining section extends to the whole pavement, at least four more tables could be added.
The initiative is an example of cross-committee working to benefit the public and private sectors, Environment & Infrastructure president Lindsay de Sausmarez said.
A lot of consideration was given to accommodating the mix of use in the area, not only for the restaurants and diners but for people passing through as well, whether that is on foot, on bicycle or in a vehicle.
Fillets will be added to the edge of the pavement so people with mobility issues or those pushing buggies will not have to deal with steps.
‘We want the people who are enjoying the al fresco dining to enjoy the area, while not inconveniencing people passing through,’ said Deputy de Sausmarez.
‘This project is essentially a proof of concept and if there are things that we realise could be improved on, we’d like to do that so we can continue to facilitate what businesses want to do.’
You need to be logged in to comment.