West Country pubs and breweries call for government clarity on re-opening date
West Country pubs and breweries worried about surviving the pandemic have called on the government to provide clarity over when they can re-open.
The lockdown is gradually being eased but an official date has yet to be announced for public houses.
Many landlords now fear that they will never re-open, nor recover, and that hundreds of jobs and years of tradition will be lost.
Businesses in Bristol, Somerset, and Cornwall have told ITV News West Country that they want clear guidance, sufficient notice, and a relaxation of the two-metre social distancing rule.
In Bristol, the owner of The Gloucester Old Spot in Horfield is used to calling time in her pub but she says it feels like time has stood still since lockdown began.
It has taken Amy Devenish nearly six years to build her business and she is worried that her 20 furloughed staff members won't have a viable business to return to.
The Huntsman Inn's landlord in the village of Ide near Exeter says the two metre social distancing rule threatens the viability of many pubs.
The Strawberry Special has stood in Draycott, Somerset for 150 years. Mike Toms has had it for 32 years.
He and his wife Lori have pre-emptively installed a screen and hand sanitizers, and even set their own hopeful opening date - but this has all come at a cost.
St Austell Brewery has resumed brewing its cask ale but it could all end up disappearing down the drain if an announcement is not made imminently.
Brewery boss Kevin Georgel said: "What we desperately need and what we've been saying to the government throughout is we need clarity. It is very difficult to make business decisions with any degree of clarity.
"We indicated to the government we needed three weeks as a minimum to get our supply chain up and working and moving to enable us to supply the pubs. What's hugely frustrating at the minute is we have zero clarity and the government have missed their own deadlines to provide that clarity."
READ MORE: