Council may need rethink on seating

IT’S good to see the local authority taking a common sense approach to the problems that are being created for businesses because of the need for social distancing to be maintained during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Before the week-end contractors were busy laying down signs to ensure that a one-way system is in operation for pedestrians when most of the shops in the town centre re-open.

It is also a very welcome development that the council is going to allow restaurants to identify areas on the street outside of their premises that can be designated as dining pods which conform with the regulations.

In recent weeks as more and more of the town’s coffee shops reopened to provide a welcome takeaway service, the absence of open air seating in the immediate vicinity of the outlet was a drawback, especially in the glorious weather we experienced.

In some cases the restaurant owners were reluctant to put seating on the public paths for they knew that such facilities would provoke a rebuke from the authorities and were liable for the payment of a permit fee to the council.

Thankfully that fear has been removed during the present public health crisis, but of course drinking your coffee in the open, and queuing outside a bank, or the baker or butcher is fine in summer, but it will be a different picture in the depths of winter.

Then, the council might have to look at their bye-laws again, and allow canopy to be erected on the pavement outside of shops to allow people to step in from the rain, and maybe snow, who knows.