Major change to pub laws coming in next month – and punters are not happy
TAKEAWAY pub pints are being axed, three years after being introduced in the first lockdown.
Struggling boozers were allowed to serve carry-outs to punters to keep the tills open while social distancing.
Many still like a beer off the premises and landlords see it as an extra sales boost.
But the lifeline will stop from September 30 after a consultation which had just 174 responses — including busybody neighbourhood groups.
Customer Paul Marshall, 38, said: “I can’t see the rationale behind taking away this service.
“If it brings money into the pubs and the economy, I’m all for takeaway pints staying in place.”
Paul, of Saffron Walden, Essex, added: “In this town we used to have 12 pubs and now we’re down to six.
“Publicans need all the help they can get — not as many hindrances as the Government can throw at them.”
Takeaway pints were introduced in 2020 to help pubs having to shut because of Covid.
Punters would often buy a drink in a plastic cup from a hatch — or a bar with a “one-in, one-out” policy — and sup it during a stroll in the park.
But a Home Office spokesman said: “The decision to allow these temporary measures to lapse later this year follows a period of public consultation.
“We believe our approach strikes the right balance between supporting businesses while listening and responding to the concerns of those impacted by licensing laws.”