Greater Manchester leaders set out plans as tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors reopen

Following the relaxation on restrictions to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors, political leaders in Greater Manchester have issued a statement, outlining the principles that will be adopted to support these industries.

The visitor economy is worth £9 billion in the city-region, and supports 105,000 jobs. Local leaders have pledged to make the case to Government for more support for the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors, as well as taking action in Greater Manchester’s 10 local authority areas.

The full joint statement from Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and the 10 Council leaders is as follows:

We know that Covid-19 has had a disproportionate effect on the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors and, although some activities will be allowed to re-commence from Saturday, many will not. Even for those businesses who can start to trade again, many in these sectors will only be able to trade with very reduced turnover. And with the furlough scheme changing we are aware that these are very difficult times for these sectors in Greater Manchester.

“We are committed to working jointly across Greater Manchester where possible to give these sectors confidence that we are fighting for them and will take every possible action to support them to come back stronger in Greater Manchester over the coming weeks. This will include continuing to make the case to Government for the support these sectors need, and taking local action to ease these sectors back into life as safely as possible.

“Significant action has already been taken during the crisis and we know that every Greater Manchester Local Authority is working hard in discussion with these sectors to support safe reopening. As well as local marketing and information we have also asked Marketing Manchester to support these sectors with specific campaigns on top of the wider business support available from the Growth Hub.

“We are also working to see what more can be done at a Greater Manchester-wide level, working together and with Greater Manchester Police to get licenced premises ready to re-open safely. We recognise that we cannot wait for forthcoming changes in legislation and are looking at what we can do to support businesses under existing legislation. As the Leaders of Greater Manchester’s 10 Local Authorities we will therefore seek, through our own decision making processes, to apply the following principles to make it as easy as possible for premises to operate in these new conditions whilst protecting public safety and remaining good neighbours:

• Greater Manchester Local Authorities will not look to suspend any premises licences for non-payment of the annual fee until 1 December 2020  

• Greater Manchester Local Authorities will look to grant any new pavement licences for the maximum period wherever possible, that is up to 30 September 2021 (as per the Business and Planning Bill)

• Greater Manchester Local Authorities will look to agree to a minor variation process for changes of use in outdoor areas and for them to be “time limited” until 1 December 2020

• Greater Manchester Local Authorities agree that where the breach of any licencing condition does not create a significant adverse effect on the licencing objectives, the need for any enforcement action during the Covid-19 Recovery period will be considered sensitively and proportionally.

“To conclude – we want every business in these sectors in Greater Manchester’s economy to have confidence that we are determined to do all we can to support each and every one of you over the coming weeks, which we know are going to be very difficult at a time when other parts of the economy are able to start trading more freely again.”

Cllr Elise Wilson, GMCA portfolio Lead for Economy and Business and Leader of Stockport Council, added:

I’m very proud that Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities, our Night-Time Economy Adviser, Sacha Lord, and Night-Time Economy Taskforce have come together to co-design these principles. They illustrate the support we are determined to give our tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors here in Greater Manchester. 

“The businesses in these sectors have been amongst the hardest hit and Sacha, alongside our Night-Time Economy Taskforce, set out the scale of the challenge we had to face up when coming up with this plan. Together I think we have risen to this challenge the way Greater Manchester always does – by working together and supporting each other. This can only be the first step and Government urgently needs to do more to support these businesses but I am hopeful the measures we have agreed across the city-region can start to make a difference.”