The truth is that none of us know! After a meeting yesterday which included the GMP Licensing Officer and one of Tameside MBC’s Licensing Officers it was made quite clear that there are no specific dates in the pipeline, there are no guidelines for us to work towards yet and we actually are as in the dark as everybody else.
However, the breweries have started brewing again and the suppliers are beginning to stock back up, so this is a good sign.
My personal opinion is that Restaurants will possibly be some of the first to open, followed by places like golf clubs, then onto those with large outdoor spaces. Business rates are calculated taking all these things into account, so maybe they would use our rateable value as some kind of guidance, who knows? The traditional pub selling just beer will be last on the list (excluding nightclubs) I’m pretty sure.
I’d take an educated guess that places with outdoor areas may open up earlier than those without, but that leaves people with the gruelling task of figuring out what to do if it rains… Where can they all go? Is there room inside to accommodate? etc. It’s a tough time for all publicans and there are many things we will have to take into account.
As a lot of you are aware we also need to take Dans illness into account. He (we) lives with Cystic Fibrosis and has been marked as vulnerable. With this in mind we have decided that when it is time to open we may hold back a little longer than other pubs to see how things go for them, take advice from them and make sure he is our main priority.
We still have a way to go, but you can be assured that we will have every safety measure in place when the time comes.
Butchers Arms Mossley 