Outdoor seating and pedestrianised streets will return to Oxford in April

According to the Government’s roadmap for easing coronavirus restrictions, April 12 is the soonest date at which food and drink establishments can open their doors for face-to-face sales, but only for customers who are able to sit outdoors.

While some businesses have beer gardens or private outdoor areas they can use, not all in Oxford do.

Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council have confirmed they plan to pedestrianise streets in the city again to give businesses space to place outdoor table from April 12.

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This has been hailed as a ‘lifeline’ by café owners in the city who are keen to see an end to Covid restrictions.

Adrian Campbell-Howard, the owner of Society Café on St Michael’s Street, said: “It has been really helpful having St Michael’s Street pedestrianised. It is a lifeline for all the businesses here. And the speed with which they pushed through the pedestrianisation in time was very supportive.”

The street was pedestrianised last year to give cafes, bars and restaurants somewhere to place outdoor tables, and is still closed to traffic until September this year, meaning cafes and restaurants will be able to return once restrictions ease.

An al fresco George Street in August 2020. Picture: Ed Nix

An al fresco George Street in August 2020. Picture: Ed Nix

Mr Campbell-Howard added: “I think we all enormously enjoyed the outdoor seating: the customers yes, but not just us: Mission Burrito and the Handlebar Café too were able to use it.

“It creates a local vibe like you’d get in any Mediterranean city when people are just sat out in the square. It doesn’t really matter what restaurant of café they’re at, it is all about the humdrum and chatter.”

Ruth Dorso, owner of Jericho Café on Walton Street said: “We normally don’t have any outdoor seating to speak of: there are usually two small tables out front, but last year we applied for a street license to take up two parking bays on the side of café on Observatory Street.

“We haven’t really had a chance to use it that much yet but we have invested in planters and furniture. We feel very lucky to have that as were we not to have it, the April 12 date wouldn’t have made a difference to us really.”

Ms Dorso added Jericho Café is currently serving customers takeaway coffees, but this only allows the shop to cover its costs, and said she hoped reopening would allow them to become profitable again.

Demand from businesses to make more room for them outside began last year because social distancing requirements meant they could only fit so many people indoors.

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The coronavirus is also more likely to spread in indoor settings than outdoor settings, meaning some customers may feel safer outside.

Over the last year, streets in Oxford which have either been pedestrianised or part-pedestrianised to give businesses extra space for eating and drinking include Cornmarket Street, St Michael’s Street, Broad Street, Dawson Street, Observatory Street and North Parade Avenue.

The city council confirmed these are set to be closed again from April 12, and is working with the county council, which oversees highways, to do this.

Tom Hayes, Oxford City Council’s deputy leader, said: “The Government’s decision to allow restaurants, cafes and pubs to reopen outdoor dining areas on April 12 is fantastic for rural pubs with large gardens, but could be a challenge for businesses in Oxford, particularly in the city centre.

“We want to do what we can to support Oxford’s restaurants, cafes and pubs to reopen on April 12 if they feel they can, so, where possible, we are reinstating the schemes listed to create outdoor dining areas and we will also be launching funding to help businesses create seating areas themselves.”

City streets will once again be pedestrianised for hospitality businesses to have outdoor seating from April. Tom Hayes of Oxford City Council, and Yvonne Constance of Oxfordshire County Council photographed on Cornmarket Street. Picture: Ed Nix

City streets will once again be pedestrianised for hospitality businesses to have outdoor seating from April. Tom Hayes of Oxford City Council, and Yvonne Constance of Oxfordshire County Council photographed on Cornmarket Street. Picture: Ed Nix

Mr Hayes added: “Oxford’s restaurants, cafes and pubs are a vital part of the city’s economy, atmosphere and culture, and provide thousands of jobs for Oxford and Oxfordshire residents, so it is extremely important that we do what we can to support them opening and get our economy moving again.”

The city council is also preparing to launch a new funding pot to provide hospitality businesses with grants to help with the cost of applying for road closures to allow them to reopen on April 12 too.

Details of the funding pot, including how hospitality businesses can apply, will be released in the coming days.

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Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has written to councils to urge them “to do everything possible to help [hospitality] businesses reopen safely and prosper again” from April 12.

If the roadmap to unlock coronavirus restrictions continues at pace, then businesses which only have indoors seating will be allow to reopen from May 17 at the earliest.

Last year, one of the most successful pedestrianisation schemes in Oxford was the George Street scheme, which saw seating space for 10 businesses created outdoors and bus routes redirected along other roads through August and September.

A survey conducted into the trial found it was popular with a large majority of city residents as well as with the businesses operating on the street.