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Greater Manchester pub and restaurant operators have reacted with a mixture of relief and resentment to learn that they will not face the closure for now.
The region has avoided the toughest level of restrictions under the government’s new local lockdown system, MPs confirmed this afternoon.
Instead, it will be placed under level two rules, which is expected to mean that hospitality businesses can stay open with existing restrictions, including a 10 p.m. curfew, table service, and service requirements. test and trace.
But addressing the House of Commons today, the prime minister said he expected the region’s leaders to agree to tougher restrictions “in the coming days.”
Operators have been anxiously waiting to know if they would have to close again, after the government’s plans to close bars and restaurants in the north were leaked to The Times last week.
Tom McNeeny, business development manager for Lancashire Hospitality Co, which operates Rochdale pubs including The Flying Horse, The Baum, Bombay Brew, The Crown and Shuttle and The Hare on the Hill, welcomed today’s news, but said That did not solve the other problems. facing the industry, including the effect of the curfew.
And he believes it will still be ‘a matter of time’ before the region is pushed into the tighter level three restrictions, which have already been confirmed for the Liverpool city region.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
He told the MEN: “What they have done is change the rhetoric and tell us ‘you can keep this 10pm curfew’ so now we are almost grateful for what we have been criticizing for the last two weeks. “.
He added: “I want to say that this second level is good news compared to what we were all convinced would come.
“But the 10pm curfew and the challenges that come with it, especially as we approach winter, will continue to be walls that we face. There is this constant threat of uncertainty.”
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Tom said the business was now entering a “survival period” and did not expect to make a profit for the next six months.
“It’s just about keeping everyone safe and on a job and keeping the places open for now,” he said.
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Haz Arshad, who is a co-owner of restaurants including Mughli on Manchester’s Curry Mile, said he was angry with the way the government had handled the information drip feed for the past week.
“I don’t know why I’m so excited about it, but I’ve been so anxious this weekend thinking God knows what could happen and listening to constantly changing bits of information.
“We think this could potentially kill one of our restaurants.
“I realized that I am searching Twitter for this information that should come from our leadership in a clear and concise way.”
Haz said today’s news was a “great relief” but still “frustrating and stressful”.
Haz said Mughli had its busiest month in August as a result of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and believes that if hospitality were to blame for the rising rates of coronavirus infections, the spike would have been seen much earlier.
In Manchester, it is understood that the recent increase was due in large part to outbreaks among students.
“We open two weeks later than everyone else because we share the concerns that everyone has,” he said.
“We stayed as a takeout for two weeks only and only reopened after taking serious action and cutting the table capacity in half.
“That is because we are responsible operators who want our staff and our customers to be served.
“I don’t understand how we got to a point where we understood what the impact of the return of universities and schools would be, and we are not prepared for it.
“So again, we are shooting from the hip without any scientific evidence to support curfews and closures.”
Local leaders, who say they were not consulted about the plans before they were leaked to the Times, strongly rejected possible closures of bars and restaurants.
Manchester City Council Leader Richard Leese laid out a plan to avoid blanket closures on Friday, and Greater Manchester night economy adviser Sacha Lord announced last night that he was preparing a legal challenge to any shutdown with the support of Mayor Andy Burnham.
(Image: Darren Robinson Photography)
Sacha said today’s level two announcement was a “great result.”
“However, this could change, so we will continue to keep our legal challenge ready, should it do so,” he said.
“We will not support any closure without scientific evidence.”
Speaking in the Commons today, Boris Johnson said the engagement with Northwest leaders continued.
“I know how difficult this is, they like us, like everyone in this House is dealing with very real dilemmas, but we cannot let the NHS collapse when lives are at stake,” he said.
He called on local authorities to ‘work with us on these difficult but necessary measures in the areas that are rated very high’ in exchange for more support, adding: “I think failure to act would be unforgivable, so I hope progress can be made. quickly in the days to come. “
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