Calls for urgent solutions to be found amid continued confusion about regulations for outdoor hospitality venues Today will see most outdoor hospitality finally allowed to reopen. Picture by Hugh Russell
Health Minister Robin Swann. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire
STORMONT ministers last night called for urgent solutions to be found amid continued confusion about regulations for outdoor hospitality venues in Northern Ireland.
Today will see outdoor hospitality finally allowed to reopen, but changes in regulations mean a number of businesses are unable to resume trading due to strict rules on their outdoor spaces.
A growing number of hospitality venues have said they have been told their outdoor seating areas do not adhere to regulations from the Executive.
Call for pragmatism as growing number of hospitality venues cancel reopening plans The Sunflower beer garden during the Belfast Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival prior to the pandemic. Ryan McAleer
Colin Neill.
THE Executive and councils are being urged to show more pragmatism as a growing number of hospitality venues have said they can no longer reopen for outdoor service on Friday.
The Department of Health confirmed last night that the rule of thumb being adopted is that outdoor hospitality areas must not be more than 50 per cent enclosed.
Although drafted by the executive, enforcement of the regulations has been left with councils.
Mourne Seafood s outdoor dining area on Bank Street last summer. Ryan McAleer
Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster.
The executive’s lack of engagement over outdoor dining has resulted in “chaos” ahead of Friday’s reopening, Hospitality Ulster has claimed.
The trade body said the late clarification of regulations has left many businesses unable to open and out of pocket unnecessarily.
One of Belfast’s best known hospitality figures Bob McCoubrey revealed on Tuesday evening that he has been instructed by Belfast City Council officials to partially dismantle a £25,000 outdoor dining area at the Mourne Seafood Bar on Bank Street.
Covid-19: Lockdown restrictions lift across NI
Published
image captionShoppers in Belfast city centre on Friday
Non-essential retail and some parts of the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland are now able to reopen.
A two-week limited lockdown, which was imposed on 27 November, ended at 23:59 GMT on Thursday.
Restaurants, cafes and other venues serving food can resume trading, however pubs that do not serve food must remain shut.
Ahead of the reopening, Health Minister Robin Swann warned against a festive free-for-all .
media captionCoronavirus: It s good to see some atmosphere in town again
They state that any food served must have been prepared in a static and permanent kitchen on the premises of the bar, hotel, pub or club and which is eaten by a person seated at a table .