East Anglia is in need of a spending spree
- Credit: Archant
With nowhere to go and no one to see, the British public has been racking up the savings during a year’s worth of lockdowns.
However while pub closures have been bemoaned and hairdressers sorely missed, consumers have got used to seeing their cash staying in the bank – an estimated total worth £180bn.
Economists are urging shoppers to make the most of businesses reopening and inject some of that money from under the mattress into the parched high street.
Indeed Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, said last week: “I very much want as much as possible to be spent that’s what creates the demand and the jobs to help those who may have lost their jobs, who may have suffered a cut in income as a result of the crisis.”
It will save jobs, but it s not much help while we can t open. We ve got to pay for coronavirus eventually, and this seems a sensible way to do it.
Tina Leamon, who manages The Grill at Twenty5 in Ipswich with her son James, said it was likely her restaurant would be only be back to full capacity at the end of the year - when the rate would be higher.
Tina Leamon, who runs Ipswich s Twenty5 restaurant with her son James
- Credit: Archant
She said: It helps a lot. We re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. But if it was extended until the end of the financial year that would be much better.
Pub bosses in Suffolk have pleaded for the Government to "trust them" to reopen in a safe and Covid-secure way, adding there is no evidence to suggest they should not welcome customers inside when non-essential shops can.
Pub bosses in Suffolk have pleaded for the Government to "trust them" to reopen in a safe and Covid-secure way, adding there is no evidence to suggest they should not welcome customers inside when non-essential shops can.
The Fat Cat in Ipswich specialises in real ale
- Credit: The Fat Cat
Over in Ipswich, The Fat Cat on Spring Road has been listed as a one of the Top 10 Beer Pubs in the country.
The pub, which specialises in real ale served from casks, was also featured in the 2020 edition of the guide as a Top 10 Beer Pub.
The Fat Cat’s Liz Pledge says: “It’s fantastic to be featured in the guide for 2021, and it’s a testament to the hard work of everyone involved in the pub, as well as the customers who come back regularly to sample the many different real ales we serve. Having a chilled tap room, where the beers are served straight from the cask enable us to keep up to eighteen different ales on the go at busy times, which gives customers the kind of choice not found in many pubs.