The City of Sydney will begin transforming close to 150 temporary on-street dining areas into high-quality footpath extensions in the latest stage of its outdoor dining program.  

The works follow extensive public feedback about proposed changes to the popular scheme.  

“We know outdoor dining has become a valued part of Sydney’s street life and culture,” Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said. 

“Both community and business have expressed strong support for our recent proposals which will make outdoor dining easier and boost the vibrancy of neighbourhoods and high streets. 

“Now we’re taking the next step. We’re replacing the temporary concrete barriers around current on-street dining spaces with attractive, permanent footpath extensions.” 

There are currently around 150 temporary on-street dining spaces across the city being considered for conversion, on top of the spaces already planned for conversion as part of major street upgrades on Darlinghurst Road, Erskineville Road and Stanley Street. 

The City of Sydney received more than 150 submissions from community members, businesses and organisations with strong support for increasing outdoor dining and making it easier for businesses to operate.  

The main proposals included:  

– establishing a process to turn the on-street areas currently bordered by concrete barriers into permanent footpath extensions, where suitable 
– providing a more certain and effective clear path of travel on the footpath for everyone 
– allowing businesses to set up outside adjacent properties, following approval by the City of Sydney 
– allowing dining on both sides of the clear path of travel, against a building and kerb, if space permits 
– making the approval process easier and quicker by reducing the need for notification and removing duplicate application processes 
– removing red tape such as rules around no standing without a table or shelf, or additional requirements for food, toilets and heaters 
– increasing flexibility to place planter boxes and large pots for greening in these areas  
– increasing business certainty with 5-year approvals in new permanent footpath extensions, where possible. 

Community feedback also highlighted the importance of maintaining accessible footpaths, managing noise impacts and considering the loss of parking spaces.  

The final guidelines retain measures to ensure clear, continuous paths of travel for pedestrians and people with disability, while existing processes for assessing parking and traffic impacts will continue to apply. 

The City of Sydney’s compliance approach will focus on communication and education for operators until 1 February 2027, except where enforcement action is needed because of significant public safety issues. 

The Lord Mayor said by providing a reliable, clear path of travel, maximum space will be available for business while protecting access for people with disability and those pushing prams. 

“Our priority is to ensure Sydney continues to have a thriving outdoor dining scene while maintaining sufficient space for others,” the Lord Mayor said. 

Since 2020, when the City of Sydney began offering public footpath and road space to businesses free of charge, over 2,600 applications have been approved. An estimated 16,000square metresof new space on roads and footpaths have been created, supporting more than 1,000 businesses. The total value of support by waiving footpath and on-street outdoor dining fees since November 2020 is around $25 million. 

Most participating business have felt the effect. Three-quarters of businesses have said the boost in customer numbers meant they needed to hire more employees, with more than one-third seeing a 20% increase in turnover.  

“It’s wonderful to see people out on the streets, connecting with each other and enjoying their neighbourhood while supporting local businesses. These latest changes will further enhance outdoor dining experiences while making the city more accessible for those passing through our streets,” the Lord Mayor said. 

The City of Sydney has allocated up to $20 million in its long-term financial plan for the program. 

Construction of the footpath extensions is expected to begin in early 2027 and take place progressively across the city over the next 8 years. 

This press release has also been published on VRITIMES