A LEADING trade association, representing the countries brewers and pubs predicts 60 percent of all UK pubs will remain closed if outdoor service only is permitted in April.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) says this is because the majority do not have a big enough garden or outdoor space to re-open just outside.

It believes 29,000 UK pubs will remain closed if just outdoor service is allowed and in Southampton, 81 out of its 135 could stay shut.

This comes after speculation in the industry that pubs won't be allowed to re-open fully when restrictions are eased, and instead will have to operate outdoor only at first.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the BBPA, said: “Let us be clear, outdoor service at pubs is not the same as properly opening pubs both inside and outside and is not commercially viable. 

“If pubs do open outdoors only in April, we believe just 17% of UK pub capacity will actually open. 

"This would result in a loss of turnover to the sector of £1.5 billion when compared to trading in normal times. That is far from reopening and recovering."

Daniel Morgan, who owns The Good Companions in Eastleigh with his partner, Claire, said the speculation is “worrying” given the risks involved.

"The problem with our trade right now, is that we have opened and closed and the amount of wastage that we have had to destroy.

"Once you tap and put-on beers and lagers and ciders, they have a shortened shelf life.

“What happens in the first week if we open and then it pours with rain.

"They have to be very careful how they reopen us - we would prefer if they waited a little bit longer and did it at a point when it’s achievable."

Aidan Lavin, co-owner of The Dancing Man Brewery at Town Quay said: “I’d rather them keep the restrictions on than offer us that.

"If they lift the restrictions that we're not allowed to open at all, that will then take away the grants that we have previously had access to.

“Some pubs won’t be able to open, so it doesn’t make for a very level playing field and it will be impossible for some of the pubs because they just won't have the space."

The BBPA claims that 75 percent of UK pubs have an outdoor space, but only 40 percent have an area big enough.

Sarah Edom, general manager at The Four Horseshoes in Nursling, said the speculation is “encouraging”.

She said: “We have a large beer garden at the front, as well as a terrace area at the rear. Unfortunately, for some pubs they will be more restricted due to space.”

The Lapstone in Horton Heath is one pub that has invested in it’s outdoor space by adding a marquee and special domes for people to sit in.

Owner, Russ Kitching, said: “We’ve been trying to find a solution to not being able to trade indoors for some time.

“It’s going to be difficult for people without an outside.

“It’s important that communities believe in local pubs."

Kris Gumbrell, chief executive of the Brewhouse and Kitchen chain, which has a pub in Highfield Lane, Southampton said: “The government are just drip-feeding various ideas through the media and testing for reaction. Just allowing people to trade outdoors makes a lot of pubs completely unviable.”

He said his 22 pubs did well under the restrictions of last summer but suffered when a 10pm curfew was introduced.

“The curfew was a shambles. It drew people into consuming alcohol a little bit more quickly,” he said.

“I’m hoping that we go back to the restrictions of July. Boris Johnson has promised there will be an easing of those restrictions. I hope they will be eased further to the point where hopefully by the peak of summer we are completely back to normal.”