Six in 10 pubs will stay shut even if outdoor drinking is allowed, industry warns

Almost 30,000 pubs will remain shut if rumoured plans for an Easter Weekend re-opening are enacted, says trade body

Only around 40 per cent have a space big enough to make it viable to open without having customers indoors as well , says the BBPA (PA)

Six in 10 pubs will remain closed even if outdoor service is resumed in April, an industry body has warned.

Speculation has mounted that people could be allowed to order drinks in beer gardens from the Easter weekend after reports suggesting ministers could ease restrictions soon.

However, some 29,000 venues would have to remain shut if only outdoor drinking were allowed, the British Beer and Pub Association said.

According to the BBPA, around three-quarters of UK pubs have a beer garden or outdoor area, but only 40 per cent have a space big enough to make it viable to open without having customers indoors as well.

The BBPA says that pubs should be allowed to re-open fully, outside and inside, when non-essential retail also opens.

Many pubs that can open outdoors-only will struggle to break even due to reduced capacity and practical challenges such as the April weather to deal with, the BBPA said.

It estimates that, with social distancing rules still in place, just 17 per cent of total UK pub capacity would be opened.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “Even if some pubs did try and open outdoors only in April, all it would take is some heavy rain and they would find it has all been for nothing.

“For many pubs, gardens are at the back and the only way to access them is through the inside. And of course, toilet facilities would still need to be provided.”

Ms McClarkin argued that, with millions of people vaccinated and “exemplary hygiene measures” in place, pubs will soon be able to open safely, both inside and outside.

She added: “Until then, the government must do all it can to support our sector until it opens to trade properly in the upcoming Budget.”

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin has also urged the government to lift restrictions on pubs at the same time as non-essential shops, warning that the industry is “on its knees” and needs to reopen to save jobs.

Over 160 hospitality bosses wrote to the chancellor this week ahead of next month’s Budget arguing for decisive support to help the sector survive and rebuild.

The call came as public health experts warned that pubs and bars posed a “potentially significant risks of Covid-19 transmission” last summer.

Researchers from the University of Stirling visited 29 pubs between May and August last year posing as customers.

They reported incidents with potential to increase transmission risk in all but three of the venues. Incidents deemed to be of greater concern were found in 11 venues

These included: combinations of singing, shouting or playing music; mixing between groups; standing and moving around the bar without distancing; customers taking photographs with other people and staff; and shaking hands or embracing others who did not appear to be in the same household.