Is it all over for al fresco?

The tradition of al fresco dining in the West End is under serious threat after Westminster council increased the cost of licences to put tables and chairs outside cafes by 500 per cent.

Small venues in central London have to buy a licence if they want customers to be able to sit outside. But the cost is now sometimes running into thousands of pounds after the council claimed mounting enforcement and operational costs meant a huge hike was necessary.

Many cafe and restaurant owners believe the fee is now prohibitive, forcing them to remove tables from the street.

Guiseppe Corradi, who has owned family-run Italian restaurant Da Corradi in Mayfair since the Fifties, has been paying £250 a year for his four outside tables and must now pay £1,300. He said: "I'm playing my part to make London a more cosmopolitan place, but Westminster wants to penalise me at every turn. We are already paying £11,500 in business rates, and an additional £2,000 to have the rubbish removed. The rent is £27,000 on top of that.

"They don't want people eating al fresco. Maybe they think that having tables and chairs outside ruins the look of the concrete. The tourists enjoy sitting outside with a glass of wine and a plate of pasta when the weather is warm."

Opposite, at Minsky's takeaway in Shepherd Market, owner Pardeep Chopra has already decided not to put tables outside. "I'm very sorry for my customers," he said. "But we just can't afford the new fees. I tell them they should complain to the council."

At the nearby Rose of Sham, a Middle Eastern diner, owner Omar Hassibi is equally angry. He said: "Any other country would welcome an establishment that encourages al fresco dining. It brings a touch of atmosphere and colour to an area. It cheers people up."

John Silks, 42, a company director who eats regularly at the market, said: "On a hot day there's nothing like eating outside. If restaurant owners can't afford to put the tables out then the council should at least investigate how it charges its fees."

In 1999 the City of Westminster Act gave the council the power to license tables and chairs on "public highways", and to charge traders for the privilege.

Westminster is unrepentant. The council's planning director Carl Powell said: "The fees charged for a street trading licence reflect operational and enforcement costs. There is no profit for the council.

"We welcome licensed al fresco dining, but in recent times the situation has become unmanageable in that some restaurants have been putting tables and chairs on the highway, which is a public safety issue. There have also been cases of disputes with neighbouring properties over matters of obstruction."

Although neither is an issue in Shepherd Market, it seems there will be no exceptions.

"As the local authority we have to take into consideration the needs of everyone," Mr Powell said. "These requirements bring clarity to licensing on our streets. We understand the demand for outdoor dining but people must recognise that we are not working with the boulevards of Paris but the streets of London."

Mr Powell said there had already been "a flood of applications and renewals for street licences covering tables and chairs".