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PUB LANDLORDS REVEAL PLANS FOR POSSIBLE REOPENING ON JULY 4
PUB landlords in Huddersfield town centre are counting the cost of reopening on July 4 with some spending thousands of pounds on keeping drinkers Covid-safe.
As licensing bodies met yesterday to discuss how it will work, landlords across the town centre were already putting their plans in place.
Bruce Travis, landlord of The King’s Head next to Huddersfield Station, said: “We would like to reopen on July 4 if we can.”
But he said there was still a lot of uncertainty about how this would be achieved and whether Kirklees would allow measures such as placing outdoor loos in some of the parking spaces and permit greater freedom for outdoor drinking.
Richard Burhouse, managing director of Magic Rock Brewery, on the fringe of the town centre, said its Holmfirth bar would reopen first and further precise details would be released in the run-up to July 4.
He said: “The Huddersfield town centre one will not reopen straightaway. We have to protect our staff and the production facilities for our supermarket sales. The town centre one will only reopen once we think it is safe to do so.”
Mark Robertson, owner of The Plumbers Arms by the bus station, said they are anxious to open as soon as possible, but admits there is a lot of uncertainty particularly over the question of the 2m social distancing requirement.
Mark said: “We will definitely be reopening on July 4 and I think people will flock back. I know some of our punters are desperate to come back and have a few beers with their mates.
“But there’s a lot of work to do. Toilets are a headache all on their own and I’m looking at spending £1,000 on outdoor ones.”
Ian Snowball, who runs The Showtime sports bar in Zetland Street, added: “We are very lucky in Huddersfield to have a strong police force managing the town’s licensed trade, it makes a big difference having two designated police constables stationed so close by and within easy reach.
“PC Jagger and PC Woodhead have always worked closely with us.
“They have contacted everyone on Pub Watch and provided a very helpful checklist on things to take into account when reopening and then invite everyone to send in their reopening strategy.
“We have spent £20,000 on new cameras, £6,000 on new benches, £4,000 on PPE, £3,000 on sanitisers and cleaners, and £200 on perspex dividers.”
Pub analyst Stephen Knight said: “Wetherspoon are going to be the massive winners when pubs reopen because they have got the space and a national team providing all the infrastructure they need.
“Smaller pubs without resources are going
to suffer.”