Outdoor opportunity

Outdoor

opportunity

Following a very disruptive spring season for the hospitality market, infrared heating expert, Tansun (www.tansun.com) is advising hospitality venues to get their outdoor seating areas ready for customers as lockdown guidelines relax across the country, and beer gardens and outdoor areas are re-opening or starting up to take advantage of relaxed planning law.

PLANNING LAW RELAXATION

Restaurants and pubs in England will be able to serve customers on pavements, terraces and even in car parks under a relaxation of planning laws that was approved by parliament towards the end of June in preparation for the restart of the hospitality sector this month.

The Business and Planning Bill includes changes to allow venues to spread out into pedestrianised areas, terraces, and even car parks, and also temporarily allow them to sell alcohol (to be consumed off the premises).

“Pubs, restaurants and cafés are the lifeblood of high streets and town centres across the country and we are doing all we can to ensure they can bounce back as quickly and safely as possible,” said business minister, Alok Sharma.

The measures will only apply to England in the first instance, with rules applicable to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland likely to be announced by their devolved governments.

SPACE FOR SUMMER

After months in isolation away from normal routines, people in the UK have now seen restrictions lift in a few significant areas and are eagerly awaiting the chance to be able to enjoy the summer months and warm weather in the ways they normally would, feel Tansun.

This includes spending time in restaurants as they start to re-open with social distancing measures in place. Many operators will only be able to offer takeaway options, or be limited to smaller, restricted seating areas inside their premises, but for those lucky enough to have outdoor seating areas some form of normal will be allowed to return, if not encouraged.

Businesses with licences for outdoor seating were able to start to initiate a restricted reopening as part of the first phase of exiting lockdown which began in early June. It is also widely thought that the virus appears to spread less easily outdoors because of the ventilation factor and UV rays making outdoor spaces less problematic - additional considerations which should appeal to customers, point out Tansun

A WELCOME BOOST

The hospitality sector has been hit harder than most during the pandemic, and has seen thousands of small businesses close to collapse since restrictions were imposed in March. However, premises without an outdoor licence may soon also be given ‘blanket permission’ to add seating to help support their business and the hospitality sector in general. Bars and restaurants will need to maximise their square footage in order to comply with social distancing rules, and this, in turn, is likely mean also preparing outdoor spaces for some big changes.

With this in mind, venues are being encouraged to make the most of their spaces to make them more enjoyable for the influx of visitors expected over the next few months. Installing efficient and effective outdoor heating to make areas both comfortable and inviting, as well as being affordable for businesses, is one of the ways they can do this, suggest Tansun. Outdoor heating also brings the benefit of helping to maximise potential occupancy and trade on cooler evenings and on milder days throughout the day parts.

Tansun’s high quality heaters use advanced infrared shortwave technology, which is not affected by air or wind movement, claim the company, and which is designed to directly target those who require the warmth.

The outdoor infrared heaters are fully IP rated, meaning they are weatherproof and with the range of bracketry that Tansun offers they can easily be mounted and installed into any outdoor area regardless of size, making them suitable for use in social distancing areas.

ECONOMIC

While conventional electric radiators remain by far the most popular form of heating for internal areas, they are less efficient outdoors, point out Tansun.

Radiators need to be pre-heated, which can dramatically increase energy consumption and as the heat is carried by convection, they are particularly vulnerable to heat loss resulting from free movement of air which also reduces their efficiency, say the company. Whilst gas burners are better suited to the outdoor environment, they can also be prone to the same problem of heat loss.

Radiant infrared heaters require no pre-heating and experience minimum heat loss and as a result, radiant infrared heaters can offer an exceptional 96% efficiency compared to other heating methods, claim the company.

All of Tansun’s products are made in the UK and are designed using premium components. The company has been established for 35 years, pioneering the concept of infrared electric heaters alongside Philips technology.