Kirkcudbright bar forced to shelve reopening plans after late Scottish Government notification that "wet bars" had to shut

A Kirkcudbright pub has had to abandon plans to reopen.

The Masonic Arms was all ready to welcome back customers when the Scottish Government’s new tiered level of restrictions came into effect on Monday morning.

On Thursday, it was announced Dumfries and Galloway would be in level two, meaning pubs that don’t serve food can serve alcoholic drinks outdoors.

However, the following day, landlord Simon Jackson was told that all pubs that don’t serve food are to close, regardless of where they would be serving alcohol.

Mr Jackson, who runs the bar with his wife LJ, said: “We were notified on Friday we had to close.

“We were all ready to serve outside, we had parasols and heaters, but we were told on Friday night that we had to close and all wet pubs in tiers
two and three had to close.”

When the previous restrictions were introduced during the October holidays, meaning pubs could only serve alcohol outdoors, the Jacksons took the decision to pull down the shutters as they didn’t think it would be financially viable.

And Mr Jackson reckons being forced to stay shut may work out for the better in the long run. He said: “It’s disappointing but you wonder how much money we would have made. “The weather is a bit grim at the moment and not many people would have wanted to sit outside so it’s maybe a blessing in disguise.”

South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has hit out at the confusion, saying pubs have been thrown into “utter chaos”. He believes the order for them to close was so businesses could access the UK Government’s new Job Support Scheme Closed, which only kicks in if a business is forced to close by law.

However, with the existing furlough scheme extended and the new scheme put on hold, Mr Smyth believes there is no need for pubs to be ordered to shut. He said: “Following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Saturday that the existing furlough scheme is to be extended, pubs are now left even more confused.

“The JSS Closed scheme has been withdrawn and all pubs, whether they are closed or not, can now access the full furlough scheme at least until the end of November. In other words – the Scottish Government’s legal closure of non-food pubs is no longer needed.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have listened closely to businesses and as wet pubs which are unable to offer a main meal service would be unviable with drinks sales alone, we decided, in consultation with the industry, to close them by law, to enable them to access the most appropriate level of support.”