"A HUGE relief."

That’s the message on a big day for the leisure and hospitality sector, as the country takes another step out of Covid-19 restrictions - and hopefully another step closer to ‘normal’ life.

After what has been a dark and difficult period, businesses are raring to go as indoor hospitality opens once again. 

Cinemas and children’s play areas can re-open, as can hotels, hostels and B&Bs, plus indoor adult group sports and exercise classes.

Today also sees an easing of rules around households mixing, allowing six people or two households to meet indoors, though outdoor gatherings of more than 30 people will remain illegal.

Bradford BID manager Jonny Noble said: “This latest lifting of restrictions is a huge relief to many businesses, some of which – particularly in the hospitality and leisure sectors – have not been able to trade for up to a year.

“They can’t wait to have customers coming back through their doors and the city centre is crying out for the evening time activity that the re-opening of pubs, bars and restaurants – as well as cinemas and theatres – will bring.

“That’s not to say we want people to rush back carelessly; it’s vital that they do so safely and maintain social distancing and mask wearing and take all the proper hygiene precautions.

“We need to keep everyone safe and healthy – and traders will be doing all they can to ensure that – but so many of the shops and services we rely on could be lost forever if we don’t show them the love they need.”

He said hospitality businesses will still not be back to maximum capacity because of the restrictions on ordering and consuming food and drink while seated and the need to maintain distances between tables.

“They are also picking up extra costs for cleaning, hygiene, PPE, more staff for greeting customers at the door and so on – so we hope customers will be kind and make allowances for the fact they are still working under a lot of pressure and restrictions,” he said.

“For many, it will be a long road to recovery and they can only get back on an even keel if they have the customers.

“The BID along with others will be making a great deal of effort to improve the visitor and customer experience. Bradford has a very loyal customer base but our high streets can only thrive if people support them.

“That’s why we’ve launched our Rediscover Bradford campaign – with help from the Telegraph & Argus – to encourage people to come back to the city centre and look at it through fresh eyes – call into shops that you haven’t been in for a while and see what they have to offer, go down streets that you’ve got used to avoiding and take a look at what’s there now – you might be surprised.

“Try the many new coffee shops, bars and restaurants that you might not have tried before, re-visit museums and galleries, enjoy the brilliant theatres and cinemas when you can and, all the time, look up and enjoy the city’s magnificent buildings and stunning architecture.

“The best way for city centre pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes to recover is for those who can to dip into the little pots of money they’ve saved up during lockdown and use it to treat themselves in a safe environment and give something back to those who have been struggling to make a living.

“We can guarantee you’ll be greeted with thanks and a warm welcome."

Mark Goldstone, from the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce said feedback from businesses is "increasingly more positive in nature".

He said: "A combination of successful vaccine roll out and the long called for route map are building confidence and most importantly allowing firms to plan ahead without fear of a return to the start-stop-restart approach we experienced last year.

"There is clearly a lot of pent up demand out there and a very strong desire to get back to normal times as we started to see following the first phase of re-opening in April.

"Some of the venues we are hearing from are reporting two to three week waiting lists from Monday which is fantastic news. Indeed anticipated demand is such that we understand there could well be a shortage of catering and hospitality staff, at least in the short term.

"I am sure for many business owners Monday’s reopening will be a blessed relief and a chance to start rebuilding.”