Relief as Kirklees pubs are told they can stay open for now

Licensees have spoken of their relief after pubs and restaurants in Kirklees escaped lockdown closure - at least for now.
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Fears were widespread that parts of North Kirklees could face tougher restrictions as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new three-tier system to control the spread of Covid-19.

But there was a sigh of relief on Monday as Mr Johnson put the whole of West Yorkshire into the middle ‘high risk’ tier which meant little change from local lockdown rules.

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Importantly for the hospitality trade in Dewsbury, Batley and Spen it meant pubs, bars and restaurants could stay open until the 10pm curfew.

Alan Ingle at The Pear Tree pup, Mirfield.Alan Ingle at The Pear Tree pup, Mirfield.
Alan Ingle at The Pear Tree pup, Mirfield.

Alan Ingle, licensee at the Pear Tree Inn in Mirfield, had been bracing himself for bad news but he said: “It’s a massive relief that we can at least stay open.”

He said the Government couldn’t afford the wholesale closure of pubs as furlough costs would soar.

“If you shut the pubs you are shutting the economy again and we can’t afford to do that.”

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Alan, 60, who has 31 years in the pub trade, runs a large pub and restaurant business. His riverside beer garden seats 300 people alone.

During the three months of lockdown Alan estimates that his business lost £360,000 in turnover compared to the same period last year.

He furloughed staff and got a Government grant but is still counting the cost.

“We will never get that lost turnover back,” he said.

Alan said his food trade was down as “people haven’t got the courage to come out.”

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Although during the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August they did - in droves - as the Government offered a £10 a head discount.

John Foulstone, landlord at the Woodman Inn in Batley Carr, said pubs and restaurants were not to blame for the spread of Covid.

“We have all the protocols in place,” he said. “The 10pm curfew does more damage when you have all the people gathering at 10pm for buses, trains and tubes to get home. Why not stagger it?”

A spokesman for a Liversedge venue remained cautious and said: “There’s still a lot of uncertainty. Everything can change very quickly.”

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A Batley nightclub, which doesn’t normally open until 11pm, faced a bleak future because of the 10pm curfew.

In a tweet last week Club tbc and Origin Party Bar director Nick Westwell said “blood, sweat and tears” had gone into the business and if they tried to stay open it would “destroy” them.

However after Mr Johnson’s announcement on Monday Mr Westwell vowed to carry on.

He said the club in Bradford Road would “adapt and evolve.”

In a statement he added: “Being a late night destination venue - we don’t normally open until 11pm - the 10pm curfew does not provide us with any sustainability.

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“We have taken the decision that we will concentrate on providing monthly high quality specialised ‘day parties’ starting with Halloween on October 31 which just happens to be on a Saturday this year.

“We have already made plans for this and are developing others for future events, depending on the timescale of these current restrictions.”