WARRINGTON pubs and restaurants are being faced with cancelled bookings, more stress and the fear that there is 'no light at the end of the tunnel' following the announcement of even tighter coronavirus restrictions in the town.

From midnight tomorrow, Friday, residents are banned from going for a drink in a pub or bar or a meal in a restaurant with someone they don't live with until further notice due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in the area.

THE BLACKBURNE ARMS, ORFORD

Kyle Burt, landlord of The Blackburne Arms in Orford, fears his pub may not survive.

He said: "The coronavirus has already had a massive detrimental on pubs due to the fact they’re a place that people go to socialise and that key aspect of it has been taken away.

"People are being told to break a habit that some have been used to for 50 odd years.

"One minute they can’t sit in a certain place, the next minute they’ve got to wear a face covering while walking around the pub and can’t stay past 10pm.

"It’s just making the whole pub experience no longer enjoyable and I just don’t see how this is sustainable for much longer.

"After all this, will pubs ever be the same again? Will they ever regenerate that custom and that experience? I can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I can’t see them saying on the news: ‘It’s all over. Go out and have a good time’. How many empty buildings across Warrington are there going to be after all this?"

It has been a tough year for the Orford Green pub as it is. Under different management, there was a drugs bust in December 2019 and the building is up for sale to developers.

Earlier in the year, the pub was threatened with demolition to make way for retirement apartments.

Kyle added: "We might have a week where we’re down a couple of grand and the week after we might only be down a couple of hundred quid.

"But it’s the uncertainty that gets you. It’s quite a stressful job as it is. There was a lot of bad press at the end of last year when the place was raided.

"The police let us reopen the pub with certain guidelines in place so we had to have door staff and licensees on site at all times and I paid for all my staff to go through their licensing qualifications.

"Just as those restrictions started to lift we’ve come into these new rules around the coronavirus.

"We’re doing everything we can to make this a Covid secure environment. The hardest thing is that you finally find a way of doing things under the guidelines.

"You get used to it, you finally get a bit of a routine going, staff are briefed and trained – and then the rules changed. It’s constantly changing. It feels like no week is the same anymore."

PUB OWNER NEIL SPARKES

Neil Sparkes runs Blue Bell, White Hart, The Maltings, Postern Gate and Level. The former Great Sankey High student reckons the existing restrictions were starting to have an effect and should have been given more time.

He added: "The new restrictions for Warrington have been announced on the same day that the Warrington Guardian has reported that coronavirus cases have fallen for five days in a row.

"If cases are already starting to fall then current restrictions may be enough. The government seems to be closing bars and restaurants by default, while at the same time offering no help to businesses that are unable to trade and employ staff.

"Reports suggest that hospitality accounts for just 3.4 per cent of outbreaks yet most restrictions apply to hospitality.

"With the end of furlough this month and venues simply unable to trade because of the vast array of restrictions, it will mean vast job loses in the hospitality businesses in Warrington and beyond.

"The chancellor stated that only viable jobs would be protected going forward – however all the jobs in hospitality are only unviable because of the restrictions imposed by this government."

TERRACE BISTRO, STOCKTON HEATH

This morning, Marc Smith, of Terrace Bistro in Stockton Heath, also shared his frustration on social media after the further restrictions led to a spate of cancellations.

He said: "Who knows what's going to happen next. We’ve taken six phone calls in 10 minutes with cancellations. Such a shame, we’re all doing our absolute best to get through this.

"We understand the situation, however it doesn’t make it any easier. Wishing all our friends and neighbours in hospitality the very best over these next few weeks."

MAISON FLEUR, STOCKTON HEATH

Kenny Valentin, who runs Maison Fleur in Stockton Heath, is in the same boat.

He added: "It’s a massive blow to our business and the industry as a whole.

"We must protect the safety of everyone during these extremely challenging times but we must also use common sense. Why do people go in a restaurant?

"They want to enjoy a meal with other people and have a social experience.

"We have provided a protected environment for all those people by following all the guidance.

"But now they are telling us to refuse customers from mixed households. I'd feel embarrassed to ask my customers who they are coming with.

"I hope people will still support the hospitality industry to ensure everyone makes it through this difficult time."