“It’s a scary time” – King’s Arms landlady says Tier 3 restrictions could be death knell for Salford pubs

A landlady in Salford has reacted to the news that Salford has been placed under Tier 3 restrictions along with Greater Manchester, with Tier 3 being more restrictive than previously.

Lisa Connor is the landlady of The King’s Arms pub in Salford and says pubs should have been excluded from restrictions.

“It’s very frustrating and seems very arbitrary,” she said.

“It’s been proven that the spread is not in pubs and restaurants, it’s in shopping centres and supermarkets.

“Most of the pubs have spent a fortune on being safe and the industry we’re in, we’ve always self-governed and policed it ourselves.”

The King’s Arms was due to host events as part of a rearranged Greater Manchester Fringe 2020, but today’s news has put these events in jeopardy.

“All the shows in the theatre upstairs will have to be rescheduled again. The theatre we’ve got is laid out for social distancing – we’ve reduced our capacity.

“We have a kitchen upstairs as if we were in Tier 2 we would have had to serve substantial meals as well. A lot has been cancelled, especially for our busiest time of the year, December.

Salford, GM & other areas had been under higher restrictions for months with insufficient financial support. Now Gov is putting us into tier 3 again, they must provide us with more extensive financial support. It’s a dereliction of duty to do otherwise. https://t.co/V0hIWkU2zA

— Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) November 26, 2020

“I think we’re going to be seeing hundreds of pubs shut daily.

“We should be fine. I’ve cut everything back, luckily the staff have been furloughed so they’re covered. It’s a scary time, it’s not just me though.

“There will be a knock-on to all my independent suppliers, all of my technicians which are freelance and haven’t been helped at all by the Government and costume designers, set designers, the list goes on and on.

“It’s not just us at the forefront, it’s the knock-on effect for everybody else that’s associated with the pub.”

When asked what Lisa’s message to Matt Hancock would be, she replied: “We need to know how they are working out and where it’s been spread and how they’re going to minimise it, because at the moment, it seems arbitrary that the scientific facts show that it’s been spread mainly in supermarkets and in schools.

“It just sounds like they’re trying to save Christmas, but there won’t be many Christmases for a long time to come for a lot of people if they all lose their jobs now”.

Salford resident Martin Watkins voiced his scepticism of the government.