Hospitality venues in the CBD and elsewhere have been keen on having tables and chairs on the footpath outside but many find themselves caught up in red tape around Wollongong City Council's regulations.

But a council spokeswoman said those policies were already under review.

Nathan Stratton, manager of La La La's music venue in Globe Lane at Wollongong Mall, said he wished the process was easier.

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"Our biggest problem is the confusion and complication caused from applying to have outdoor seating," Mr Stratton said.

"We feel like we are bounced around between council departments at times as we seek clarification in what we can and can't do.

"It would be great to have a more streamlined process to make it easy for small hospitality operators to navigate."

Business Illawarra executive director Adam Zarth said he'd been hearing a lot of complaints along similar lines, with venues claiming the rules are too restrictive.

He said making it easier for venues to offer alfresco dining could give a post-pandemic boost to venues.

"Wollongong City centre has suffered its share of setbacks during the pandemic, so as we continue the economic recovery we are advocating for outdoor dining as a way to build new vibrancy, visitation and life in the CBD," Mr Zarth said.

"While the Illawarra economy is showing great sign of recovery and even growth, there remain sectors that continue to struggle, particularly those hardest hit by the pandemic such as hospitality and tourism."

Ryan Aitchison, manager of The Illawarra on the corner of Keira and Market streets, said alfresco dining held strong appeal.

"We want to increase our offering to customers by providing an outdoor dining offering under our awning on Market Street," Mr Aitchison said.

"The extended development approval process to apply for this is costly and time-consuming."

Mr Aitchison said he faced an added hurdle because Market Street is under council jurisdiction, while Keira Street is overseen by Transport for NSW.

One place with outdoor seating is All Good Things cafe in Burelli Street. Owner Matt Russell said that seating helped the venue get through the capacity restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Under the current health restrictions it would not be possible for us to operate solely on the indoor tables we have," Mr Russell said.

"As we continue to build focus on a healthy, active lifestyle in the area, allowing operators an easier way to activate outdoor dining spaces will not only add value to the business but also make the city streets more attractive as they would come to life with more activity."

Among the changes Mr Zarth said Wollongong council could make was to consolidate the regulations on outdoor dining into a single policy document.

Mr Zarth also suggested waiving application and licensing fees for outdoor dining in the CBD.

"We are now urging council to review its processes and materials and announce a user-friendly system that promotes the reasonable use of council road reserve as well as council owned and managed land for outdoor dining," Mr Zarth said.

"We believe the right permit arrangements for outdoor dining should help hospitality businesses to attract patrons and increase foot traffic in the CBD, which should have flow-on positive effects on other businesses and the local economy."

Mr Zarth felt an increase in outdoor dining wouldn't create congestion for pedestrians passing tables and chairs on the footpath - if council had any concerns, it could look to address that in the simplified regulations.

"Right now the restrictions are so complex, byzantine and impossible to comprehend, I would be surprised if anybody would be able to do it," Mr Zarth said of businesses applying for outdoor dining.

The council spokeswoman said the organisation was already looking at ways to make the application process easier.

"Council, for some time has streamlined the process for businesses wishing to apply for outdoor dining through our online application on council's website," the spokeswoman said.

"Council's officers will continue to offer support and advice to businesses to assist with this process.

"We're also currently reviewing council's outdoor dining policies to see what changes we can make to simplify the process for hospitality businesses.

"This review will also take into consideration the recent changes introduced by the NSW Government's Outdoor Dining initiative."

The spokeswoman also said a "significant" waiver of fees for outdoor licence holders was already in place to help those venues hit by the pandemic.

The potential for creating congested footpaths was often a consideration when council was assessing an outdoor dining application, the spokeswoman said.

"As part of council's process to approve outdoor dining applications, we work with the business applicant to take into consideration the impact outdoor dining may have on footpaths and pedestrians," she said.

"One of the requirements for successful outdoor dining applications is that a continuous path of travel is maintained for pedestrians."

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