Regulations For Smoking Shelters

In making your preparations for the introductionthe size of the smoking shelter
of the Smokefree provisions on 1 July 2007 in the- You can't provide temporary covers for any of
UK, it is advised that you are particularly carefulthe open parts-this stops them being counted as
with any plans for outdoor smoking shelters thatpermanently open
could lead to significant wasted expenditure if it- Customers outside your premises may cause
goes wrong. This guide aims to help you makenoise or other nuisance problems for neighbours,
the right choices, although it should not be reliedand this may trigger a review of your certificate
upon as a definitive interpretation of the law oflicence
the UK Smoking Ban- You will need to provide some form of bin for
What counts as a smoking shelter?your customers litter There are alternatives for
There is no legal definition, and you don't have tosmoking shelters such as :
provide one. It will be illegal to smoke or allow- Awnings
smoking in enclosed or substantially enclosed- Umbrellas and Parasols
premises, therefore a smoking shelter has to be- Golf umbrellas for customers to borrow
less than substantially closed. This means that- One Scottish pub has recently been loaning
50% of it's sides must be permanently open.waterproof coats to customers, with "stolen from
The location is also important, because building aBuddies Bar" printed on the back Another
structure like this with an open side too close to acommon mistake made by some in Scotland and
wall or other obstruction could mean that it noIreland has been to cover an existing yard with
longer complies. (the law refers to premisesan awning. Because the yard has 4 walls and the
rather than structures, and an adjacent wall couldawning provides a roof covering,even temporarily,
be deemed to be part of the premises of yourthe yard falls into the category of substantially
shelter.enclosed premises even when the awning is
Some other problems to avoidwithdrawn.
- You may need planning permission, depending on