‘Our unique selling point is our Achilles heel’: One of Britain’s smallest pubs says they will not reopen under relaxed restrictions

‘We wouldn’t be able to serve a pint on the bar very easily,’ landlord says

The landlord of one of the UK’s smallest pubs has said loosened restrictions “is not going to change very much at all” for his establishment.

After pubs were given the green light to reopen on 4 July with the social-distancing rule reduced to one-metre, The Nutshell in Suffolk said they will have to stay shut unless they can get permission for people to drink outside.

“Our unique selling point – the size of us – happens to be the Achilles heel in this particular situation,” Geoff Page, the joint landlord of the pub in Bury St Edmunds, told The Independent.

“We wouldn’t be able to serve a pint on the bar very easily,” he explained.

“The member of staff would have to step back from the bar for the customer to get up from the seat on the edge of the pub to collect the pint.”

The pub, which held the official title of the Britain’s smallest pub until several years ago, has a bar area of 15 by 7ft.

Mr Page estimated the pub would be able to fit five single people inside – all sitting on their on their own – under the social-distancing rules, which say people must stay at least one-metre apart as a preventative measure against coronavirus.

“It’s not really feasible for us to open until we can get permission for people to drink outside,” he told The Independent.

The Nutshell pub in Bury St Edmunds say they will have to stay shut unless they can get permission to serve outside (Mary Page)

He said this would give them a ”fighting chance” – “as long as the weather stays nice”.

Boris Johnson said on Tuesday pubs – as well as other venues, such as restaurants, cinemas and museums – can reopen from 4 July after being shut for months due to the pandemic.

However, pubs will have to implement changes to make sure they are safe for their staff and customers, with government guidance telling owners to take into account the maximum number of customers able to social distance and to not play loud music which could lead to people raising their voices.

People should stay two metres away from each other – or one metre is acceptable with extra mitigation, such as wearing face masks.

Speaking about pubs being able to reopen on these conditions, the landlord of the tiny Suffolk pub said: ”It is not going to change really very much at all for ourselves at all.”

However, he said the “unusual” establishment has been helped by the furlough scheme for their three permanent staff members and the small business grant, and himself and the other co-landlord had other sources of income.

“We are just dealing with it, same as other people,” Mr Page said. “We are not in any way near a bad a situation as some others.”