Pub chain says it 'can't wait for Government decision' and will reopen on July 4

A pub chain has said it will reopen all of its venues on July 4 as any further delay would put jobs at risk.

Many firms have been working towards reopening pubs on that date following months of enforced closure during the coronavirus lockdown.

However the Government has yet to officially provide a date for the reopening of pubs despite pressure from business owners.

Oakman Inns’ founder Peter Borg-Neal promised to open all 25 venues in the South and Midlands on July 4 as he said it would be "irresponsible" for the chain to delay reopening further.

On Wednesday evening he said on Twitter: "So [Oakman Inns] will be opening all sites on the 4th July. It would irresponsible for us to delay as we would be putting jobs at risk.

"To open without proper forward planning would also be wrong. We cannot wait for the Government to make a decision."

He later told the BBC the chain had two options, to "hang around and definitely go bust" or to reopen and see if the authorities would "destroy" them.

Mr Borg-Neal called on the Government for clarity and urged other businesses to join him in reopening on July 4.

"I'm not trying to be some reckless rebel," he said. "We need to plan ahead, get staff off furlough, remove furniture, install hand-washing stations, change layouts in pubs.

"You can't just give us a couple of days' notice and expect us to open safely."

He added: "We would not open unless we thought it was 100 per cent safe to do so."

Oakman Inns told the BBC that it had not yet received a response from the government following the announcement.

The pub chain founder said in the event of a "conflict situation" the company might not open all of its venues immediately.

"I could just open one or two to see what they do," he said.

A Government spokesperson told the Metro: "We fully understand that the hospitality industry wants to get going and we are working with them on how to reopen safely, but we have to ensure we proceed in a way that is cautious and safe."

It comes after chief executives of leading brewers and pub operators wrote to Boris Johnson to warn him that the sector has reached “crisis point” and needs to know that they can open from July 4.

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The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said pub and brewery businesses are burning through £100 million every month in cash whilst they remain closed.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “Britain’s 47,000 pubs and 2,000 brewers have reached a critical moment and need a definitive date on when pubs can reopen.

“Our sector is burning through £100 million a month just trying to survive with no cash coming in. That is simply not sustainable. We need a date now to give us confidence and clarity on when we will reopen.

“Our message to the Prime Minister is clear: stop keeping our sector in limbo. Give us the clear date we need for reopening, so our great British pubs can be ready to return and support our communities and the economy once more.

"The livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of publicans and pub and brewery employees in every corner of the UK hang in the balance.”

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