Footpath Dining

In a Region that enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year, Rockhampton Regional Council is committed to helping our community take advantage of outdoor dining to create vibrant and active street frontages. Footpath dining provides business operators the ability to expand floor space at a minimal cost, potentially improving the commercial capacity of their business. 

What is Footpath Dining?

Footpath dining is where a business selling food and drink wishes to place tables and chairs on the footpath for use by patrons to the business. It increases pedestrian traffic and provides attractive places for people to meet and socialise.

Food businesses wanting to provide footpath dining on local government controlled areas and roads require approval in accordance with Subordinate Local Law No. 1.2 (Commercial Use of Local Government Controlled Areas and Roads) 2011.

Footpath dining approval is not required from Council when trading on private land or on a main road; however you should check with the relevant agencies to see if other approvals apply. See our Fact Sheet for more information and general requirements. 

Annual Renewals

Once an application for footpath dining is approved, only the annual renewal fee will need to be paid. The annual renewal fee is currently $130 per annum for the 2022/2023 financial year.

How to Apply

Council is committed to helping our local businesses through this process.  To apply for footpath dining approval, you will simply need to submit a completed Commercial Use of Roads Application Form – Footpath Dining with supporting documentation. Supporting information includes:

  • Site plan to scale
  • Colour photographs of proposed materials
  • Certificate of Cover for Public Liability Insurance

Footpath Dining Application Form

Footpath Dining Policy

For further information please contact Local Laws by emailing enquiries@rrc.qld.gov.au.

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