‘The last 48 hours have been catastrophic’ – Manchester restaurants report a huge spike in cancellations
Restaurants fear another tough Christmas ahead as Omicron concerns rise - with some establishments fearing they may not survive 2022 if cancellations continue
A number of pubs, restaurants and bars in Manchester are reporting a dramatic spike in cancellations as the new Omicron variant raises concern amongst the public.
As news of Christmas party cancellations spread, some Manchester operators say they fear they may not survive into the new year without the large takes that the festive season typically brings.
Manchester’s nighttime economy adviser Sacha Lord told Sky News this morning that the ‘last 48 hours have been catastrophic for the industry’.
“December is the time when people have a good time, you know they can take up to 25% of their annual turnover in December and sadly at the eleventh hour it’s been smashed away from them,” he said.
Responding to a number of cancellation reports coming out of the city’s hospitality sector, Lord laid the blame at the door of Jenny Harries, head of the UK’s Health Security Agency, who on Tuesday advised the government that people should limit their social contact ‘a little bit’ in the run-up to Christmas to ‘help to keep the virus at bay’.
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Sacha Lord. Credit: Darren Robinson Photography
He later added in a statement: “Whilst is it highly important that individuals follow Government guidelines to limit the spread of the new variant, they should not make any rash decisions about cancelling their Christmas plans.”
“If the hospitality sector is not supported and closes in December, it will be the final nail in the coffin for many of our beloved venues. This festive period was supposed to help these businesses reach back to pre-pandemic levels and boost revenues for the first time in months.”
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The government has officially rejected this advice and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people not to cancel their Christmas parties, as has GM Mayor Andy Burnham – but as Lord put it this morning, it seems that ‘bad news spreads a lot quicker than good’.
“It’s yet another blow. A less busy than expected December might be the final straw for a lot of hospitality business,” said Mary Ellen McTague, owner of The Creameries restaurant in Chorlton.
“We’ve had two years of closures, unpredictable business, rising costs etc etc.
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“I honestly don’t know how much more we can take.”
'I think what we would hope is that the consumers listened to the Prime Minister who came out very strongly'@UKHospKate of @UKHofficial on whether Omicron will deal a death blow to the hospitality sector
Following nearly two years of struggles through lockdowns, tier restrictions and closures caused by staff illnesses, many operators have been counting on a good Christmas – not just to help see them through to the next year, but make up for trade lost to date.
Many businesses have installed extra safety procedures – such as PPE for staff, perspex screens, hand sanitiser points and more rigorous cleaning schedules – at their own expense, and there is a hope amongst some that this, combined with ‘green light’ government messaging, will reassure customers to honour their bookings.
Ultimately, though, the sector is now calling on people to at least let restaurants know if they are no longer going to attend – with some advising that people should be prepared to ‘at the very least lose their deposits’ if they pull out of a booking.
“We have had reports from multiple Manchester-based clients that they have seen particularly large bookings start to cancel,” said Abi Dunn of Manchester-based hospitality recruitment consultants Sixty Eight People.
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Credit: Unsplash
“This is very sad actually and I truly hope this is the minority. The message from the operators will be clear – if you feel you have no choice but to cancel, then please let the venue know immediately.
“Customers should expect at the very least to lose their deposits and shouldn’t be questioning this. The industry have spent months preparing for Christmas and for many operators a successful December will be key to survival.”
Elsewhere, City Pub Group chief executive Clive Watson said that some bookings had made the choice to postpone to next year instead of cancelling – a welcome move for hospitality businesses already on the knife edge.
“We’ve had some larger parties call up and not cancel – but postpone until January or February,” he told Sky News.
“But from what we can see, smaller work parties and friends meeting up before Christmas is still fine.”
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Add hotel / venues to that list @Sacha_Lord – at least 50% of our Christmas parties, conferences and groups for December all cancelled this week. Soul destroying.
The cancellations also appear to be having a knock-on effect across wider industries, with local photographers reporting booking cancellations and hoteliers saying that they’ve seen huge conferences, Christmas parties and other groups pull out of bookings too.
“At least 50% of our Christmas parties, conferences and groups for December all cancelled this week. Soul destroying,” said Scott Brown, the Director of Sales for Melia and Innside hotels in Manchester and the north of England.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference this week, the PM said: “We don’t want people to cancel such events.”
“What we are doing is trying to take a balanced and proportionate approach to the particular risk that seems to be posed by Omicron – certainly is posed by Omicron – focused, in particular, on measures at the border.”
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Speaking to Mail Plus this morning, CEO of UK Hospitality Kate Nicholls said: “I think what we would hope is that […] consumers listened to the Prime Minister who came out very strongly yesterday afternoon, to say that the government measures on booster jabs on testing on masks were efficient and to recognise the investments that hospitality has made in ventilation, caffeine and sanitation.
“So there was no need to cancel Christmas festivities and bookings, and that people could socialise safely.”
Andy Burnham invites opposition party leaders to help tackle ‘broken’ social care system
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has announced that he is making the choice to fix the ‘broken’ social care system by finding ‘common ground’ across party lines.
Attempting to draw a line under what the Government has described as ‘decades of decline’ and a refusal to tackle these problems head on, Andy Burnham has now called on all political parties to focus on solving problems and finding solutions together, rather than pointing fingers at the opposition and getting nowhere.
The Prime Minister has reiterated the need for ‘a new kind of politics’ that puts differences aside in order to come together and face up to the challenges that he says Westminster has left unaddressed for ‘too long’.
Burnham invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, to meet with him today (29 July) to ‘kickstart’ this work and discuss an urgent reform on social care.
The three leaders were jointed by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care which will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service.
Baroness Casey has also launched the new Big Conversation on Care today.
The Big Conversation on Care is giving the public a chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England so that it is designed for the people it is there to serve.
The consultation will be open to everyone through a new online platform, and will start off the conversation by asking people about what the ‘values and principles’ we should all expect from a care system are.
“Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics [and] nowhere is that more urgent than social care,” Andy Burnham said in his speech.
“For decades, Governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated. Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue, and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.
“That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it.”
The Prime Minister says it’s time to ‘draw a line under people playing politics’ when the human cost of that means carers are struggling, families are paying the price, and the NHS is ‘buckling’ under the strain.
“This comes down to a choice,” his statement continued.
“We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.”
Featured Image – Age Cymru
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Brits start petition to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closure amid budget cuts
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester, the North West and Brits at large are urging people across the country to pen a petition to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing down for good.
In fact, this is just one petition among numerous protests over its impending closure.
For anyone who somehow hadn’t come across the sad news, the national institution that is Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) in Cheshire, which includes the award-winning and world-famous James Lovell Telescope, is scheduled to shut down permanently by March 2028.
Despite having served a crucial part in alleviating Cold War tensions back in the 1960s, operating as an important scientific hub under the University of Manchester umbrella, and remaining a major tourist pull for the region, it’s unfortunately lost its funding and is on course to be decommissioned.
While the massive Northern landmark near Macclesfield is home not only to the largest telescope in the UK, important physics research and even an annual music, arts and science festival in the form of Bluedot, its cultural significance doesn’t appear enough to keep it solvent.
Described as a “huge blow to astronomy” not just here in Britain but for the global industry as a whole, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have even described it as a form of “scientific vandalism.”
Having been open since around the end of WWII, before going on to possess the largest steerable radio telescope of its kind in the entire world by 1957, it’s been used to identify distant planets, stars, galaxies and more up in the far reaches of space.
Dr Megan Argo, reader in astrophysics at the University of Lancashire – which also shares a fruitful partnership with the centre alongside UoM, Cambridge, York and many more – said in a statement: “Jodrell Bank is still a very active facility and remains at the forefront of research.
“Recent upgrades have facilitated new discoveries about planet, star and galaxy formation which tell us about our own history, helping to answer one of humanity’s biggest questions: are we alone in the universe?” Put simply, the steps currently being taken have been called “short-sighted” to say the least.
With that in mind, people across the sector and online are now rallying behind the initiative to try and rescue the important and historic UNESCO site before it’s too late.
Cheshire and Warrington mayoral candidate Ben Fletcher is one of several notable names that have publicly backed the push to save the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre as a whole, along with its highly valuable facilities.
Meanwhile, one user on X added: “I’ve got an opinion on the Jodrell Bank stupidity – and I’m sorry, but that’s a polite understatement. But it is frankly unrepeatable in impolite company, let alone polite.
“I hope the nitwits who have made the decision feel proud about themselves though. Because pride comes before the fall.”
You can see the numerous posts from supporter voices on the Change.org page, including everyone from impassioned scientists and researchers who first discovered their love for these subjects by visiting the attraction, as well as Northerners who simply enjoyed some of their most precious memories there.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) needs to cut an estimated £700 million by 2029/30, and JBO needs to find enough funds to cover its £2.8m budget to avoid closing in the next couple of years. So, if you’ve been stirred by the passionate appeals, you can sign the petition HERE.
Much wider than greater Manchester. Remember going as a child from Merseyside, and have taken my children, too.
Georgina Pellant -
2nd December 2021 
