Covid dilemma: Bars talk to Harrogate Advertiser about fears over Tier system and why they are determined to fight on

As Harrogate's hospitality sector awaits news on which tier of Covid rules the town is going to be put under following the end of lockdown next Wednesday, independent bars have been talking to the Harrogate Advertiser about their situation.
The Half Moon pub in Knaresborough - "Tier 2 would be extremely tough for us."The Half Moon pub in Knaresborough - "Tier 2 would be extremely tough for us."
The Half Moon pub in Knaresborough - "Tier 2 would be extremely tough for us."

They fear the worst but are positive that they will be flexible and are determined to fight on in the spirit which has led to the popularity of the Advertiser's current #supportourindies campaign.

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Max and Katie Harrison, who own The Half Moon in Knaresborough, said:

Simon and Sharon Colgan, who own the Blues Bar in Harrogate - "We are determined to do whatever we can to get open and provide a safe place for people to be over the Christmas period."Simon and Sharon Colgan, who own the Blues Bar in Harrogate - "We are determined to do whatever we can to get open and provide a safe place for people to be over the Christmas period."
Simon and Sharon Colgan, who own the Blues Bar in Harrogate - "We are determined to do whatever we can to get open and provide a safe place for people to be over the Christmas period."

"We agree a tier system which allows a more tailored approach rather than a national blanket one is sensible for the economy and for businesses like ours.

"If we are put back into tier 1 which from a business perspective is the same as pre-lockdown with the exception of last orders being called at 10pm rather than 9.30pm, we’ll be able to reopen and benefit from the festive season trade.

"As with pre-lockdown, trading conditions will still be much tougher than pre-Covid because we have reduced capacity inside and outside and twice as many team members per shift to accommodate the table service and additional cleaning requirements which ensure we are completely Covid secure.

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"Winter time also means far less use of our outside areas which will directly impact revenue.

"Tier 2 would be extremely tough for us. As a small, wet led pub, the restrictions on households mixing indoors coupled with the requirement for customers to only purchase alcohol alongside a substantial meal could well rule us out from reopening.

"If we end up in t will undoubtedly be very damaging for the sector. Whilst the furlough scheme is set to run until the end of March, the 80% of wage support for employees is only committed to until the end of January.

"We are grateful to the Chancellor for extending the furlough scheme as it enables us to protect jobs but for hospitality business owners, there are still bills to pay.

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"It’s a really hard time for so many people. We’re just keen to weather the storm and are looking forward to hopefully better times in the Spring."

Simon and Sharon Colgan, who own the Blues Bar in Harrogate and also run the Worlds End in Knaresborough and The Empress at The Stray in Harrogate, said:

"We are determined to do whatever we can to get open and provide a safe place for people to be over the Christmas period.

"The pub is too important over the festive time for us not to do all we can.

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"But I have been very impressed with some of the bars in town that have grabbed the bull by the horns and really used this time to improve their outlets.

"This will make such a difference to the appeal of the town moving forward..

"If the council could be persuaded to embrace some of the outside offerings for next summer, I feel Harrogate will reap the benefits in the long term."

Simon Cotton, managing director of the HRH Group in Harrogate which includes The Fat Badger pub and The Yorkshire Hotel, said:

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"I don’t want to even think about a Tier 3 scenario for Harrogate as it would be catastrophic in terms of damage to businesses.

"I think most people accept that Harrogate’s economy is built on the back of Hospitality and Tourism and if we were to ask our Restaurants, Pub, Bars, Hotels and many other venues to stay shut throughout December, I fear the town will be a ghost town in 12 months.

"At Tier 2, I’d be unhappy but would obviously respect the rules and we’d have to make the most of it, but takings would be significantly down as a result and there is no opportunity for playing catch up.

"We’ve tried to remain positive throughout the whole crisis and stuck by our investment plans, refurbishing our hotels, creating new dining concepts and ensuing we are creating new jobs as well as protecting those we already have.

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"I would like to see the Government increase all efforts into getting the vaccine out now and creating protective tighter restrictions around the highly vulnerable as opposed to stifling business."

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