James Shorthouse, Head of Alternative Markets at Colliers International said: “With today’s enforcement of the Government’s new ‘rule of six’, it’s important to examine how these measures, which have been implemented to combat the sharp rise in COVID-19 infection rates, will have an impact on the hospitality and leisure industry.
“Hospitality premises can be configured to conform to the maximum six persons rule by correct layout of tables, limiting the numbers of seats at a table and allocating customers to specified tables.
“The Hospitality sector clearly wants to avoid a second spike, and a consistent set of rules are important so that customers, owners and staff understand what is allowed. Naturally we want to get back to a situation without restrictions as soon as possible but the sector has already demonstrated its commitment to operating in a responsible manner, adhering to the rules and ensuring that the trading environment does not increase the risk of spreading the virus.
“Any increase in regulation brings additional costs to businesses, so it is really important that the rule of six is kept under review and that it is relaxed as and when it is safe to do so.
“Successful implementation of this rule will require cooperation between operators and the police / local authorities and it is vital that adequate funding is put in place to pay for the additional enforcement officers.”