More than half of pubs won’t open in April

MORE than half the pubs in the UK will stay shut in April when lockdown restrictions allow beer garden service, according to a trade body.

The British Beer and

Pub Association survey has estimated that more than 60 per cent of pubs – a total of 29,000 – do not have a big enough garden or outdoor area to welcome back punters when restrictions ease next month.

The government will allow groups of six people across two households to visit a pub’s outdoor premises for seated service.

But even those pubs that can accommodate the restrictions will be at the mercy of the British weather, according to BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin.

She said: ‘Even if some pubs did try to open outdoors only in April, all it would take is some heavy rain and they would find it has all been for nothing.

‘For many pubs, gardens are at the back and the only way to access them is through the inside. And of course, toilet facilities would still need to be provided.

‘We question the government’s thinking behind this and suggest they consult with us as a sector on it.’

The trade body estimates that lasting restrictions on indoor service would mean in £1.5bn of lost turnover compared with a normal period.

It comes as the heads of two major pub chains have called on the government to re-think its road-map out of lockdown. Both the chairman of JD Wetherspoon and the head of Young’s have called for pubs to re-open indoor service in April.