PUBS OPENING

April 2021

Pub goers flocked to venues across the borough in April 2021 as a phased reopening of the hospitality venue began.

Although a number of sites had to wait an extra month until they were allowed to welcome regulars back.

More than 50 pubs were permitted to open their beer gardens, but venues that didn’t have the facility to seat guests outside missed out and were forced to wait even longer.

Under the rules at that time, visitors were allowed to meet in groups of no more than six people in an outdoor setting. It was a strange time for people who wanted to celebrate the easing of restrictions.

Residents were still incredibly wary of the risk of Covid and as a rule made sure they acted sensibly.

Rules on when pubs were able to open until were introduced and followed by all venues.

It felt like there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the hospitality sector.

It was a sector that, at one stage, looked like it may never recover.

But the hope that they could at some point get back to prepandemic levels was always at the forefront of landlords’ minds.