Fylde coast hospitality businesses' doubts over new rules including 10pm curfew to cut coronavirus cases

The rules, which will see pubs, bars and restaurants having to close at 10pm and introduce table service only, could seriously damage their business and result in illegal gatherings in houses instead, they warn.

The sector, which has born the brunt of the damage caused by the lockdown, is not convinced that the moves are the right one to stop the growth in new Covid-19 cases.

Boris Johnson warned the UK was at a “perilous turning point” in the battle with coronavirus as he abandoned efforts to get more workers back into offices, ordered wider use of face masks and imposed a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants.

And he warned that the new curbs could last for six months – taking them well beyond Christmas – “unless we palpably make progress”.

The Prime Minister also announced tougher enforcement measures, with businesses facing fines or closure for failing to comply with coronavirus rules and people facing £200 penalties for failing to wear masks where required or breaching the so-called “rule of six”.

George White, from the No 10 Ale House in Whitegate Drive, Blackpool and Park Road St Annes, said that many hospitality businesses would now struggle to keep going.

He said that under the current conditions his own venues were operating at about 75 per cent of their usual turnover compared to previous years.

He said: "We are hoping that people change their drinking habits and come out earlier and spend the usual amount of time out socialising but just earlier in the day.

"We are not a late night drinking venue so we are hoping it doesn’t have a massive impact on us, but we feel for our colleagues within the industry like clubs or venues down Queens Street that will now have to close earlier."

He said the table service only rule would pose a significant expense for some pubs and bars.

He added: "We have actually found our customers like it and are actually going to keep it in operation when things get back to normal. It does mean higher staffing costs which is hard on our industry when things are already difficult but it is something that we must adhere to if we want to remain open. We don’t want to go back to a full lockdown as that would be disastrous for our industry."

And he was one of many that worried that kicking people out of bars at 10pm may just shift the problem elsewhere. He said: "We are basically forcing hundreds of people onto our streets on busy Friday and Saturday nights and moving the problem behind closed doors with the potential for house parties.

"At least in our venues we can monitor people’s behaviour and ensure all the rules like social distancing and hand sanitising are being followed. My worry is that people will just end up 20 plus in a house and spreading the virus round that way."

Julie Baume from the Cartford Inn at Little Eccleston said the sector was not convinced it was the main driver of rising cases of coronavirus.

She said: "We feel the Government decision has been misjudged and pointless. We already go above and beyond to ensure optimum safety measures.

"It seems the Government's decision comes with minimal evidence.

"Once again we have no choice but to adapt for our own survival. Stopping alcohol service at 10pm and vacating by 11pm would be better. In that case we would not necessarily lose a huge majority of our 8.30pm reservations."

Campaign for Real Ale chief executive Tom Stainer said: "Pub-goers and publicans alike want to stop the spread of COVID-19, but this curfew is an arbitrary restriction that unfairly targets the hospitality sector and will have a devastating impact on pubs, jobs and local communities.

"CAMRA is calling for the Government to publish the evidence that pubs or restaurants are the source of more transmissions than other sectors across the country – if they aren’t, then why are they being singled out for nationwide restrictions?"

Rick Pickup from CAMRA's Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre branch said the move would make it hard for some pubs to cope.

He said: "It is disappointing that the hospitality industry in general and pubs specifically have had additional restrictions placed on it.

"Many pubs have tried exceedingly hard to make a Covid-safe environment work for people to safely have a drink and socialise. It is the responsibility of all pub goers to follow the rules and without so doing it's quite possible that harsher restrictions will be placed on the sector."

Babs Murphy, Chief Executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce said: “We as a business community completely understand and accept that further restrictions are absolutely essential to bring these conditions under control.

“Businesses are playing their part and will continue to do so in tackling this pandemic and the overwhelming majority are doing all they can in keeping their customers, the general public and employees their safe

"What Businesses need now is to see a clear road map for the existing restrictions and those that may be introduced in the future. This must include transparent trigger points, and clarity about the support available to protect jobs and livelihoods.

“The government should waste no time in setting out a comprehensive support package for firms forced to close or reduce capacity through no fault of their own.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said: “It is hard to understand how these measures are the solution to fighting the disease when Government data shows that just five per cent of infections out of the home are related to hospitality.”

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night-Time Industries Association, warned the measures could trigger “a surge of unregulated events and house parties which are the real hot-beds of infection, attended by frustrated young people denied access to safe and legitimate night-time hospitality venues”.

Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon which has three venues in Blackpool, said: “Curfews are counterproductive - pubs are working very hard to implement sensible social distancing rules. As UK Hospitality, the pub trade organisation, has said, there are very low infection rates in pubs.

“A curfew will mean that supervised socialising in pubs will end at 10pm and people are likely to socialise in their homes and elsewhere, where there is no supervision.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said: “It is hard to understand how these measures are the solution to fighting the disease when Government data shows that just five per cent of infections out of the home are related to hospitality.”

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night-Time Industries Association, warned the measures could trigger “a surge of unregulated events and house parties which are the real hot-beds of infection, attended by frustrated young people denied access to safe and legitimate night-time hospitality venues”.

The tough restrictions come as up to 6,000 jobs are set to be axed at Premier Inn owner Whitbread, which also operates the Beefeater pubs and Brewers Fayre chains.

The Wetherspoon pub chain also said it had written to its 1,000 airport staff to warn them that between 400 and 450 jobs are at risk of redundancy.