Covid lockdown UK: Beer gardens reopen in Scotland and Wales

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Masked shoppers flocked to department stores across Scotland and formed huge outdoor queues while pubs welcomed thirsty customers indoors again for the first time in months as retailers look to claw back a colossal £4.1billion in lost sales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Non-essential retail, gyms, swimming pools, libraries and museums, cafes, restaurants and beer gardens swung their doors open to the Scottish public this morning as Nicola Sturgeon finally eases the gruelling national lockdown amid falling virus cases, hospitalisations and deaths. 

In Wales, pubs, restaurants, bars, cafes and other hospitality businesses reopened for outdoor service today for the first time since December, with dozens of punters seen queueing up outside Boom Battle Bar in Cardiff’s Brewery Quarter for its midnight reopening last night. 

One shopper at Primark on Princes Street in Edinburgh described how she was delighted to be able to head inside the store with her family for a browse. ‘It’s great fun, I got loads – jammies, a jacket, socks, a pair of jeans, stuff for the kids – they were running riot, they thought it was great,’ she said.

People enjoyed their first post-lockdown pints in South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, while driving lessons began again with the windows down and both instructors and pupils wearing disposable face coverings as one instructor exclaimed: ‘It is a big relief for everyone, we are back at work now.’  

However, indoor hospitality must close at 8pm, while alcohol can only be served outside. Meanwhile, the cap on the number of people allowed to attend funerals and weddings has been increased to 50.

VisitScotland is calling on Scots to support the recovery of the tourism sector hammered by shutdowns by enjoying short breaks, days out and staycations in Scotland. CEO Malcolm Roughead said: ‘It is clear that tourism has been one of the greatest economic casualties of the pandemic.

‘We’ve had a year of very little investment, job losses and business closures – it will take time and significant investment to get us back to a thriving industry. With the right support, tourism and events can lead the economic recovery and boost inward investment where it’s needed most, but to do that the industry needs the support of people living in Scotland in the first instance. 

‘Many businesses are reopening after months of no trade, and with staycations set to be popular again this year, there is a real opportunity for us all to rally round and show our support for local tourism.’

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) also urged people to support the retail sector. David Lonsdale, SRC director, said: ‘We encourage Scots to get out and visit their favourite shops over the coming weeks knowing every purchase they make and every item they buy is a local job supported and a high street helped. 

‘Unlocking consumer spending will be central to Scotland’s economic recovery and to bouncing back quickly.’  

Lush on Edinburgh’s Princes Street had a small queue of people waiting outside for its doors to open. Manager Alan Brown said staff had been looking forward to welcoming back customers.

He told PA: ‘We’re all really excited, we’ve been preparing for the last few weeks with lots of training, with the shop, getting all the new products out as well. We’re just really excited to be speaking to people again after such a long time.’ 

He added he was looking forward to ‘a bit of laughter, a bit of fun’ inside the store with the return of customers.  Queues also formed outside the nearby Zara store while some shops opened extra early. 

Meanwhile, the public were asked to think about staying local and supporting businesses in struggling town centre high streets.

Scotland’s Towns Partnership’s Phil Prentice says it is vital that economic recovery from the pandemic grows from the grassroots.

He said: ‘By supporting your local businesses you will be helping the national recovery.

‘The importance of today for those retail, hospitality and leisure businesses which have been unable to open since December cannot be underestimated. Their survival, however, depends on support. And the most critical support comes from their community. This is a chance to rediscover and celebrate all that’s on our doorstep.

‘We hope that today can signal the start of a summer of success, both in terms of beating the pandemic and for businesses bouncing back.

‘Thinking local first – and safety first – will give the greatest chances of realising those hopes.’

The owners of a Glasgow bar have said the industry needs clarity in the guidance issued by the Scottish Government as the sector reopens.

Though restrictions have been eased today, meaning customers can return to bars and drink outdoors, there has been some confusion expressed by business owners over social distancing in recent weeks.

Ms Sturgeon dispelled the worries as ‘myths’, adding just one metre should be left between people from different households, the same as during the first easing of restrictions last year.

Colin Clydesdale, co-owner of the Ubiquitous Chip, said he needed ‘longitudinal tables’ to work out how many people would be allowed to sit in the bar’s outdoor spaces at any one time.

He told the PA news agency he agreed with the need for a lockdown but said: ‘Some of (the guidance) has been absolutely on the money and brilliant and necessary, and I get it all. But, from our point of view, it’s been a long, hard slog and a lot of what we’re facing at the moment is very, very muddled.

‘We don’t entirely know what we’re meant to be complying with – we’re trying our very best – so how the customers know I’m not sure.

‘You actually need some sort of longitudinal table to actually work out how many customers you can have in or out and what denomination of – it’s not easy but we’ll get there.’

Carole Wright, the other co-owner of the bar, said the industry needed clarity, especially if restrictions would have to be reimposed following a spike in cases.

‘If something happens again, how is it going to affect hospitality? Shutting us down, opening us up, not letting us sell alcohol, not knowing if you’re going to be able to furlough staff – you can’t run businesses, you can’t plan businesses with that lack of information, so we want clarity and we want consulted,’ she said.

Mr Clydesdale added his staff were ‘raring to go’ as the bar opened its roof terrace and outdoor seating areas to drinkers on Monday, adding: ‘If the trajectory keeps going in the right direction, then we’re absolutely up for it.’

He admitted the past four-and-a-half months of closure had ‘not been easy’ on his business or the sector as a whole.

‘Horrendous – there is no other (way to describe it),’ he said. ‘We’ve been doing this for 50 years, we’ve made good choices along the way and bad choices along the way and we’ve set plans in motion, some have worked out really well and others haven’t and we’ve changed direction – we’ve always been, in theory, masters of our own destiny.

‘This time, there was nothing we could do – very hard to deal with, across the whole industry, not just us.’

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie visited the Finnieston Bar in Glasgow, saying it ‘felt fantastic’ to be back in a beer garden.

‘I think everyone right across Scotland has been desperate to get back to a dose of normality,’ he said. ‘We know we have to do that carefully, cautiously and obey the rules – as most people have done really well for the last year.’

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross also paid a visit to 56 North in Edinburgh. ‘It’s great to see hospitality reopening, many jobs rely on the sector right across Scotland, so it’s really encouraging to see a partial reopening of the sector,’ he said.

‘Obviously Scottish Conservatives have called for some time to see the restrictions due to be eased on May 17 brought forward to today, because that would allow the whole industry to reopen.

‘While it’s great that some of our pubs are being able to reopen, many that don’t have outdoor spaces remain closed today.’

In Wales, the owners of Boom Battle Bar in Cardiff’s Brewery Quarter decided to make the most of the new found freedom by opening from midnight until 3am on the first day of trading. 

The bar’s manager, James Finn, said Cardiff council as well as South Wales Police were aware of their plans to re-open at midnight. Officers from South Wales Police did visit the bar during its brief opening to ensure that all restrictions were being adhered to. 

The Boom Battle Bar was the only pub to open at midnight to punters while the rest of the city centre remained deserted. Mr Finn said: ‘We saw some of the bars in England that had done it and it just so happens that our licence allows us to trade during that time.

‘I’m sure there are a lot of premises whose licences don’t allow them to trade at that time so I’m sure there would be a few more open if they could. Some of the staff were really keen to do it as well so we thought we’d just go for it.’

The bar opened last November where axe throwing, hammerschiagen – a Bavarian game in which nails are knocked into tree stump with a hammer – and arcade games were part of its in-house entertainment.

However on opening night – and due to restrictions meaning customers could only be seated outside – only food and drink was served.

Mr Finn said: ‘We opened last year between the two lockdowns and we caught some of the autumn internationals which was amazing.

‘I’ve grown up in Cardiff so I know it well as a city but we only got to open two or three weeks during that time which was tough. We had a really great reaction, it was just a shame that we only had that limited time.

‘Over the week we’re sort of looking at 250 to 300 people booked in a day with Saturday being the busiest.

‘The last week has been anticipation, getting ready for it. Previously we had a lot of guidance and things to prepare for – whether that’s track and trace systems, one way systems, whatever it might be that the government thinks will make it the safest space.

‘So this time there was a bit of anticipation of what may come out prior to opening.’

At the front of the queue ready for their first drink were friends Kyle Hill, Tom Virgo, Holly Khan, Craig Datzell who arrived just before midnight.

‘We’re very very eager to come for a drink,’ said Holly. ‘We had a couple of drinks before hand while prepping and getting ready.

‘There’s definitely the novelty of leading up to midnight – you’ll never be able to say again ‘I went back to the pub for the first time at midnight.’ 

While some people had planned ahead for the grand opening night, for others it was a last minute excuse for a night out. Friends Meeta Halai, Ellie Thomas and Lois Roberts booked just an hour before arriving. 

Lois said: ‘We just wanted to make the most of being able to come out finally. We haven’t really been out this year so it’s exciting. It was really last minute – we booked in about an hour before we came.’

Just 30 minutes after re-opening, all 60 pre-booked slots had arrived at their tables as well as a few walk-ins who decided to try their luck. The bar catered for several different group sizes and masks had to be worn at all times unless sat down.

Kacper Wieczorek lives nearby and said he had been watching in anticipation as the bar set up. ‘We were super excited, we’ve been planning our first pint for months and we actually live nearby so have been watching everything get set up and as soon as we realised it was opening tonight we thought ‘yes we’re going’.

‘We cycled from Merthyr to Brecon then back to Cardiff today so we deserve this pint.’

In a coronavirus press briefing on Friday, Mark Drakeford suggested that indoor hospitality should be able to reopen from May 17, as it will in England. But any decisions coming into force after May 6 are dependent on who is in government as the Senedd election takes place on that day.

Friends Sam Petterson and Theo Ellis were also at Boom Battle Bar to enjoy their first taste of freedom as restrictions eased.

Sam said: ‘It’s been a long year and my view is we’ve spent the whole year making a lot of sacrifices which I absolutely understand for the sake of people who absolutely need us to.

‘But it’s been a very long time, I think a lot of people have given up on what is permissible and what is not but now that we can it’s good to get back out.’

Ellis said: ‘It made sense to lock ourselves away for the health of others, however it’s been a year and now we are able to get back out there and do something which feels a bit ‘normal’.’

James Wilson, owner of Boom Battle Bar, said: ‘After being in lockdown for six months we thought ‘why not’ – we’ve got the licence to run it for a couple of hours and everyone is waiting for a drink so we thought why not. 

‘We’ve had a decent response. Midnight on Sunday is always going to be tough but we’ve pulled in a bit of a crowd so we’re happy to host.

‘We saw the pubs in England doing it and I think we thought nobody else in Cardiff would do it so we thought we would give it a go.’

From May 3, gyms and leisure centres in Wales can reopen, and people can form extended households with one other household – while indoor supervised activities for children, indoor organised activities for up to 15 adults like exercise classes, and reopening community centres are also being brought forward from May 17 to May 3. 

Indoor mixing in England will not be permitted until at least May 17 when groups of six people or up to two households will be allowed to meet indoors while the rule of six will be scrapped for outdoor gatherings. 

From today in Scotland, people will be able to meet others for a meal or drink, with up to six people from two households allowed to socialise indoors in a public place such as a cafe or restaurant. 

Other changes include the resumption of driving lessons and tests while close contact services, such as beauty parlours, can also return. 

Travel between Scotland, England and Wales will be permitted and tourist accommodation can welcome back visitors. This means people can travel between the three countries for short breaks as long as households do not mix in rooms.

Non-essential work inside people’s homes – such as painting, decorating or repairing – can take place.

Adults on the shielding list can return to the workplace if they cannot work from home, while children who have been shielding can go back to school.  

When Wales went into lockdown on December 20, hospitality businesses were forced to close, but could continue to offer takeaways.

Today’s easing of hospitality rules comes as other restrictions were eased on Saturday, allowing any six people to meet up outdoors.

Children under 11 years of age are not included in the new six-household limit, nor are carers from those households. Meeting people from other households indoors is still not allowed except for a limited number of circumstances.

From May 3, gyms and leisure centres can reopen, and people can form extended households with one other household.

Indoor supervised activities for children, indoor organised activities for up to 15 adults like exercise classes, and reopening community centres is also being brought forward from May 17 to May 3, which will complete Wales’ move to Alert Level 3. 

Britain roars out of lockdown: Shoppers are set to splurge their savings in summer spending spree – while experts predict economy is on course for best year of growth since WWII

Shoppers in Britain are set to spend their savings in a summer spree after consumer confidence in Britain saw its highest jump in at least a decade following the post-lockdown roadmap being revealed, economists said today.

Deloitte’s consumer tracker reported a record quarterly rise in confidence in the first three months of the year, up six percentage points to -11 per cent, with every sub-measure up both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

The figure represents the net percentage of consumers who said their confidence had improved in the past three months, and it was compiled from responses given by more than 3,000 Britons between March 19 and 22.

Now, net discretionary spending is expected to become positive for the first time, which means that the number of consumers who think they will spend more is higher than those who expect to spend less.

The activity of ‘going to a shop’ was put at the top of a list of leisure activities Britons are most likely to do post-lockdown, with nearly two thirds of people saying they expect to return within a month of being allowed.

It comes as cafes, beer gardens, non-essential shops and museums reopened in Scotland today as lockdown easing continues – two weeks after outdoor hospitality and retail welcomed back consumers in England. 

Among the sub-measures of confidence seeing rises were children’s education and welfare which was up by six points to -11 per cent, while sentiment over health and wellbeing increased by eight points to -26 per cent.

Household disposable income was up seven points to -10 per cent – while confidence in debt moved into positive territory at 1 per cent, for the first time in ten years since the tracker index began in 2011.

Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said: ‘The UK is primed for a sharp snap back in consumer activity. High levels of saving, the successful vaccination rollout and the easing of the lockdown set the stage for a surge in spending over the coming months.’

He added: ‘The eventual peak in unemployment looks set to be far lower than had been feared, and far lower than following any downturn in the last 30 years.’

It comes as experts at EY Item Club predicted Britain’s economy is on course for its best year of growth since the Second World War.

In an upbeat forecast today, economists at the think tank have upgraded their prediction of GDP growth for 2021 from 5 per cent to 6.8 per cent. 

That would be the highest postwar growth rate, surpassing the 6.5 per cent recorded in 1973.

They also say the economy is expected to regain its pre-pandemic size by the second quarter of 2022 – earlier than a previous forecast – because Britain had proved ‘more resilient than seemed possible’.

Howard Archer, the chief economist, said: ‘Businesses and consumers have been innovative and flexible in adjusting to Covid-19 restrictions and, while restrictions have caused disruption, lessons learned over the last 12 months have helped minimise the economic impact.

‘Our latest forecast suggests that the UK economy will emerge from the pandemic with much less long-term scarring than was originally envisaged and looks set for a strong recovery over the rest of the year and beyond.’ 

EY also revised down its forecast for peak unemployment, from 7 per cent to 5.8 per cent, which it says will occur in the final three months of this year. 

Meanwhile footfall figures in London’s West End have been tracking well ahead of the previous reopening in June 2020. The second Saturday, April 24, saw footfall around 57 per cent of the usual number of April visitors.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West End Company, which represents 600 businesses on Oxford Street, Bond Street, Regent Street and in Mayfair, said: ‘With the continuation of the warm weather heading into the weekend, we were delighted to see Londoners making the most of the sunshine and heading back to the West End to refresh their spring wardrobes and enjoy time with friends and family in outdoor spaces.

‘We’re encouraged by the sustained levels of footfall that we’ve seen in the district, already tracking well ahead of the first reopening in June 2020. However, it is imperative that businesses continue to be supported in the right ways to help them recover. 

‘We desperately need an extension of Sunday trading hours in Britain’s two international centres – London’s West End and Knightsbridge.  

‘These returning shoppers are looking for flexibility – we’re seeing high levels of footfall in the district in the evenings, highlighting the public’s desire to shop, dine and enjoy the West End at their convenience.’ 

Last week a separate survey found consumer confidence edged up only slightly last month amid a more guarded view of the future from households hit hard by the pandemic. 

GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by just one point to -15 in April, after a seven-point jump last month.

Confidence in personal finances over the coming year remains strong at +10 and the poll recorded a significant rise in confidence in the general economic situation in the next 12 months, with a six-point boost in April following a 13-point increase in March and 14 points in February.

However the major purchase index, a marker of confidence in buying big ticket items, decreased by one point to -12, although it remains 40 points higher than this time last year.

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: ‘Confidence has edged up one point in April with consumers taking a more guarded view on the future. This clear trend of growing confidence reflects the forecast of a rebound for our economy during the second half of the year.

‘The improvement in the consumer mood since January is welcome but the pandemic has hit household finances hard and, on the road ahead, we will still see concerns over new variants, rising inflation and the debt overhang.

‘Nevertheless, there’s every chance that as the recovery gains momentum and the numbers get stronger, confident consumers will continue to spend and drive the wheels of UK finances into the summer and beyond.’