This should be a boom time for Tim Tomlinson, whose three Lancaster pubs would normally expect bumper takings in December as families, friends and colleagues gather in the run-up to Christmas.
Now the pubs and restaurants can only operate as takeaways as the area faces the harshest restrictions when England’s second national lockdown ends next week.
The wider district, which also includes the town of Morecambe, had the lowest case rate of all tier 3 local authorities, with 97.2 new cases per 100,000 population in the week to 21 November, down from 174.6 cases two weeks prior. Indeed, 150 areas that are due to be put into tier 2 have current case rates that are worse than Lancaster.
Tomlinson hopes they will all be able to make it to the spring but, without the December takings that would normally sustain them, he fears his pubs – the White Cross, Merchants 1688 and the Stonewell Tap – may not be able to hold on that long.
“It’s just survival until spring and then, from spring onwards, trying to get some form of recovery to make up for the losses we are making this year,” he said, adding that he expected not to make any money until 2022.
“Christmas, for the hospitality trade, is key to getting through October to February. January and February are extremely meagre and December is the one thing that can give you a little bit of a lift and carry you over. Without that, a lot of businesses are going to be on the brink or worse.”
And Tomlinson is not the only person angry that Lancaster, which has among the lowest rates of transmission in England, has been hit with the harshest restrictions when almost every other area with a similar rate was placed in tier 2.