In June, the City of Launceston announced that Inside Cafe on Paterson Street and the Schnitty Bar on Invermay Road had been selected to participate in a 12-month trial of the portable outdoor decks.

The decks were manufactured by Victorian company Events 720 and were originally due to arrive in September but arrived four weeks early, much to the delight of the two businesses in the trial.

The portable decks were put in place on Paterson Street and Invermay Road last Friday just in time for the busy weekend trading period.

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Launceston mayor Albert Van Zetten said he hopes the decks provide a much-needed boost in diners over the next 12 months as restaurants get back to pre-COVID capacity.

"We want people to enjoy the outdoors and have more outside seating options," he said.

"While there are currently more than 60 businesses offering outdoor dining options in Launceston there are some areas where outdoor dining has not previously been possible due to a lack of footpath space.

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"Launceston boasts a wide array of businesses with outdoor dining- including cafes, restaurants and takeaways shops- there are opportunities for us to boost economic activity and vibrancy through re-imagining the way we use infrastructure and public places into the future."

Mr Van Zetten said the businesses were selected following a competitive expression of interest process and will see the decks provide outdoor dining facilities for spaces where it was restricted or not at all possible.

The trial being supported by the state government through a $50,000 Ready for Business grant with the council hoping the trial will provide insights into how hospitality businesses can deliver more vibrancy.

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