Alfresco dining and outdoor pints are here to stay as government extends licences

Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases

Get our food and drink newsletter for free

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Alfresco dining could become a permanent fixture in England as the government announces pavement dining and takeaway pint licences will be extended nationwide.

Last year, the government issued temporary licences allowing pubs, restaurants and bars to serve customers on pavements after social distancing restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus reduced the number of people they could accommodate inside.

The licences meant that more than 41,000 venues could reopen on April 12, when restrictions on outdoor dining were lifted.

As part of plans outlined by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to help businesses recover after a year of disruption and closure caused by the pandemic, licences for pavement dining are being extended and made permanent.

Licences for takeaway pints – which were first introduced in April this year – will also be extended for 12 months.

The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, which forced almost 10,000 businesses to shut. The strategy has been welcomed by UKHospitality, which said it will help businesses “rebuild” and “thrive”.

“The pandemic has devastated the hospitality sector and businesses are desperate to bounce back strongly and return to profitable trading,” chief executive Kate Nicholls said.

“That’s why the launch of this new Hospitality Strategy is so important – it offers a strong platform to deliver the supportive regulatory and trading environment we need to recover, rebuild resilience and thrive,” she added.

Ellie Gill, the landlady at The Grapes in Bath, told the BBC that pavement dining and takeaway licences have doubled her pub’s capacity.

While The Grapes can accommodate 35 socially distanced customers inside, she is able to seat an additional 40 people outdoors. “With the amount of cases going on sitting outside is what people most want to do,” she said.

In a bid to further boost the sector, the government will also work to highlight vacancies in the industry and make hospitality a “career option of choice”.

“We want young people to see the hospitality sector as a go-to option for long-term careers,” business minister Paul Scully said.

“That’s why we will explore new options for vocational training and help further boost the creativity and environmental friendliness of the sector through the first-ever government strategy for the hospitality industry,” he continued.

Following the reopening of indoor dining in May, the service sector grew by 0.9 per cent. However, UKHospitality has warned that the industry still faces considerable challenges, including £2.5 billion in rent arrears which were built up during the course of the pandemic.

In June, the government also introduced new measures which will protect hospitality businesses against evictions until March 2022.