Pubs and restaurants in froth over Covid rules on ‘outdoor’ spaces
SCORES of pubs and restaurants face confusion as Covid rules ease today in England after being told their outdoor seating spaces primed for reopening did not count as outdoors.
Government guidance says that shelters, marquees and other temporary structures with roofs must have half their walls open at all times to be classed as outdoor areas.
Local authorities are interpreting the rules differently, leading to an outcry from some landlords and restaurant owners who have only just been told they supposedly fall foul of the regulation.
One Lancashire publican has written to the Prime Minister after being told his walled bar garden is not compliant, meaning he cannot reopen despite tak- ing bookings for 1,000 meals.
Another landlord in Brighton said he was “devastated” after being told his pub garden in the city, which is just below street level and walled, did not have sufficient air flow to be allowed.
Other premises using innovative structures such as beach huts, tents and plastic “igloos” could also potentially be stopped from reopening because of the rules.
Trade associations for the hospitality and pub industries urged councils yesterday not to be “overzealous” in applying the guidance and instead show “pavement pragmatism”.
There is particular concern that given the weather forecast has the UK temperature today and tomorrow in single degrees Celsius that without such structures drinkers could stay away. Today marks the beginning of stage two of Boris Johnson’s reopening “roadmap”, which results in Covid restrictions being gradually lifted in a way that is planned to be “cautious but irreversible”.
Last night the Prime Minister urged the public to “behave responsibly” as the rules are eased.
As well as non-essential shops opening their doors again and the return of limited staycations, pubs and restaurants are allowed to open for serving outside.
Yet what should be a moment of celebration for those pubs and restaurants with outdoor space after months of forced closure has turned to confusion and disappointment for some.
The issue is Government guidance which is based on legislation linked to the indoor smoking ban, when a definition was needed for what constituted outdoor and indoor.
The Covid guidance for reopening outside reads: “To be considered ‘outdoors’, shelters, marquees and other structures can have a roof but need to have at least 50 per cent of the area of their walls open at all times whilst in use.”
It means, if applied strictly, that a marquee or tent must have two of its four sides open at all times to be allowed in today’s reopening.
Similarly plastic igloos – a phenomenon seen at some restaurants over the last year – would be barred, as would most beach huts, sheds and greenhouses.
Paul Mellor, who runs the Cube Bar in Poulton-le-fylde, Lancashire, had been told his walled outdoor seating area was non compliant by the council.
“The situation is crazy. We’ve fully stocked up to serve more than 1,000 meals that we’ve got booked in,” Mr Mellor told The Blackpool Gazette.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the trade association UK Hospitality, told The Daily Telegraph her message to local councils on the issue was one of “pavement pragmatism”.
“We need to have a permissive approach to try and support as many of these businesses as possible, legally and in the spirit of the regulations,” she said.
“If we take a very strict approach we’re in danger of losing these community assets for good.”
Emma Mcclarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, told The Telegraph: “We have overzealous local authorities that rather than
approaching our publicans in the spirit of assisting us in reopening safe trading spaces are coming in specifically to look for things to perhaps pull us up on. It is a bit frustrating.”
She added: “We have an extraordinary cold reopening coming this week. We are trying to make those outdoors spaces as hospitable as we can. We just hope we can find a way to make this work.”
A Government spokesman said it had published “clear guidance to help hospitality businesses reopen safely” today.
Toby Perkins, the Labour MP and deputy chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for beer, called for more clarity from the Government about how to interpret its guidance.
“Neither local authorities nor publicans are epidemiology experts. It really is for the Government to make clear what the rules are,” he told The Telegraph.
“There is a concern that if the weather’s fine pubs are going to be really busy at the weekend and that’s going to be great.
“But if we have bad weather then they still are going to be doing a fraction of the business that they normally would.”