CHEERS! Pub car parks to be turned into beer gardens
1,000 bars could open in days as rules relaxed
UP to a thousand Scottish pubs are ready to open within days – allowing the nation to toast the easing of lockdown rules.
Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce the start of phase two of the country’s route map out of strict coronavirus restrictions on Thursday.
Under the changes, only pubs with outdoor areas for drinkers will be allowed to open. Councils have received a rush of licensing applications from bars hoping to turn any available outdoor space, including car parks and disused land, into makeshift beer gardens.
The inside of pubs will remain off limits until stage three – possibly on July 15.
According to the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, half of the nation’s 4,500 pubs have outdoor space they could use.
However, fewer than half of those have enough room to make opening financially viable – as long as the two-metre social distancing regulations remain in place.
That still means around 1,000 could open, if licensing applications are successfully fast-tracked.
Paul Togneri, of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said: ‘For those pubs with outdoor space and able to open, it will be great to welcome customers back again. That first pint will definitely be one to savour and I’m sure many of us are looking forward to it – weather permitting, of course.
‘The vast majority of pubs will still be unable to open, either due to lack of outdoor space or because the social distancing guidelines... make it financially unviable.’
Paul Waterston, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: ‘Everybody that’s got the capacity is working hard to get their places ready and alleviate the weather problem with umbrellas and other items they can use.
‘Licensing boards are trying to cut away the red tape.’
The two-metre rule is also making it difficult for pubs to open as pavement cafes, even where they already have the right licences, because of the need to keep space free for pedestrians.
Instead, drinkers are likely to find themselves gathering behind pubs or in adjacent car parks. Stephen McGowan, a licensing lawyer at
TLT solicitors, said: ‘I am aware, anecdotally, of hundreds of pub owners across Scotland who are planning to use outdoor spaces where this is commercially viable, and many who have applied to get permission for existing unlicensed areas like car parks. While it won’t be viable for everyone, there is a strong cohort of businesses actively looking at ways to welcome people back in this way.’
He added: ‘The majority of cases I am dealing with are on private land like car parks and land at the rear of pubs.’
Glasgow City Council has created a special department to try to simplify the licensing process, enabling a quicker response.
Council leader Susan Aitken said: ‘Encouraging innovative ideas from businesses is essential and we want to make it as easy as possible for businesses to find their way.
‘The city services team has been established to help restaurants, bars, venues and other traders cut through some of the challenges they will face as we emerge from lockdown.’ A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The next review point is on Thursday – that review must take place first and will inform a decision on when phase 2 can commence, based on the scientific and public health evidence as is available at that point.
‘We will publish guidance soon for the tourism and hospitality sector on what businesses need to do to ensure safe reopening.
‘Scotland’s hospitality sector has been hit hard by this pandemic and we do not underestimate the crisis this has created. It is essential, however, that reopening of the sector is phased and gradual to ensure the protection of public health.’
‘That first pint will be one to savour for many’