News / beerd
Decision to replace restaurant tables with parking bays is ‘soul destroying’
A Bristol restaurant owner has expressed anger that what used to host four tables and 16 seats has now been replaced by a parking bay.
Beerd owner Paul Kemp said the replacement of covers with vehicles makes him feel “instantly under a cloud personally”, adding that “the business energy has dropped”.
Temporary rules letting hospitality businesses, including Kemp’s pizza and craft beer restaurant on St Michael’s Hill, have outdoor seats on the road saw diners spill out into the open air across the city. It was introduced to help businesses maintain customer numbers without breaking rules on social distancing due to Covid.
is needed now More than ever
But the Traffic Orders Procedure (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2020 ceased at the end of October, meaning these spaces have reverted back for parked cars.
Bristol City Council says the powers that allow them to renew or create new licences for outdoor seating in suspended car parking spaces were removed by the government in April 2021. It is, however, is extending temporary pavement licences until September 2023.
https://twitter.com/beerdbristol/status/1597928018022125568
Beerd added a seating area in the road outside during the pandemic so customers could dine outside rather than in the restaurant itself.
Owner Kemp said the option to create a safe space outside for customers was “liberating” and helped trade at a difficult time for the hospitality industry. He called the decision, which mayor Marvin Rees said is dictated by the government, “soul destroying”.
Kemp told Bristol24/7: “We’ve lost 20 covers in good weather and I now need to make £100 plus a day profit to pay for energy increases alone.
“I no longer have the energy to fight it and run a business. I’m still suffering from long Covid and my will power is finite.”
Princess Victoria Street was made permanently pedestrianised in November – photo: Martin Booth
In September, more than 4,500 petitioned the council to help pubs and cafes survive a difficult winter by extending the rules. o-founder of the Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars and Independents Brendan Murphy warned councillors that the city’s “hospitality would be decimated” without urgent action.
But the mayor said without any new legislation to put these powers back in place, nothing could be done under current law to let businesses keep tables on the road.
In his blog, Marvin Rees said expanded outdoor hospitality was “a welcome addition across Bristol in response to the pandemic” and the government’s decision to not to renew legislation was “disappointing”.
He wrote: “We understand how frustrating this is for many businesses, particularly at a time when the sector is being hit hard by inflation alongside the wider impact of the cost of living crisis.
“We want to support businesses to continue to operate outdoors where we can, and we want to ensure businesses are clear on what they need to do next.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- Hospitality outdoor seating to be extended until September 2023
- Upfest 2023 cancelled amid ‘rising costs’
- ‘We can challenge the huge amount of food inequality in Bristol’
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