Coronavirus: Portsmouth pubs and restaurants to offer takeaway service during coronavirus outbreak

Currently, planning permission is required for businesses to provide a takeaway service.

But the government confirmed regulations will be relaxed to enable businesses to deliver this service without a planning application as an emergency measure to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

Restaurants and pubs in the city are already using the new regulations to their advantage by putting plans in place to offer their meals to go.

The owners of No. Forty-6 restaurant, in Southsea, are planning to do what they can to ensure they survive the period of uncertainty.

Co-owner Dee Duncan said: ‘Forty-6 is a newly launched restaurant, to be in this situation is so difficult.

‘With the public being informed not to go to restaurants, pubs and bars it’s absolutely challenging.

‘The only thing we can do is offer deliveries to those who wish to self isolate. Hopefully offering our customers options that will help them will also help up at the same time.’

Staff at the King Street Tavern are planning to take similar steps and are planning to keep the pub open despite a drop in bookings over the last week.

Owner Sean Marshall said: ‘We’re focusing on what we can do now to protect the business and keep the staff employed. We’ll be doing what we can and doing our own deliveries and are rushing to put everything in place to try to make the best of a terrible situation.

‘Even if we do end up closing we will service the community with food because we have an elderly community. Our staff will be volunteering.

‘Our priority is the staff and the community.’

However, the owner of another Southsea pub feels the new guidelines are ‘pointless’, as they won’t be able to afford the added overheads.

Paul Winter from the Florence Arms said: ‘It’s pointless. People aren’t going to want to get takeaways, they are going to want to save money.

‘The quality of my products is based on the experience and presentation on a plate. I’m not willing to compromise quality.’