More than £1,000 spent on Leeds' Manahatta, Box and Banyan bars’ Christmas decorations and outdoor seating before Tier 3 forced closure

The owner of Arc Inspirations bars across Leeds has expressed his anger after he invested a large amount of money into decorating his bars for Christmas and developing sheltered outdoor seating areas in preparation for restrictions after lockdown.

But, then it was revealed that England would be entering a Tier system with bars having to stay closed if located in a Tier 3 area.

Across 17 of owner Martin Wolstencroft’s Arc Inspirations bar sites, only three have been able to open as they are based in Tier 2 areas.

Most of the rest have been caught under Leeds’ restrictions where pubs, bars and restaurants must remain closed.

Mr Wolstencroft said: “It’s a disgrace and this industry has been targeted by having to close down.

“Through data I’ve seen, hardly any of the cases are coming from hospitality so it feels like we have been singled out.

“This is the busiest time of the year and not being allowed to open is going to cause mass amounts of damage, especially because we were under the impression that lockdown was ending on December 2 and so we would then be able to re-open.

“No-one saw it coming and I’d spent over £1,000 on Christmas decorations in each bar and invested money into creating sheltered outdoor seating for restrictions where households could only mix outside.”

The Arc Inspirations bars are branded as Manahatta, Box and Banyan.

Arc Inspirations is a local Leeds business employing over 900 people and owner said that whilst his staff are on furlough, this is still causing a cost to his business through taxes on it.

He added: “The government offered £1,000 grants to wet bars but this is not substantial as I still have rents that need paying in full along with multiple other costs.

“There is no real understanding of when we will be able to open, and at the earliest once the Tiers are reviewed on December 16 this would be the weekend before Christmas.

“I usually make a third of my year’s profit in December and I can’t do that with such limited opening times and that’s if we are allowed to open after the next Tier review.

“Leeds rates are going down so why can’t the government review it now and let us open.”

Mr Wolstencroft said his bars have created an “economic bubble” in the city over the past 20 years and the knock on effect with so many families that rely on the bars is huge.

He added: “It’s not just our staff, it’s our suppliers, butchers, cleaners and doormen too.

“This is life versus livelihood and although it’s awful that so many people are suffering from Coronavirus, so many problems are being caused for people with mental health problems such as depression and anxiety from the fact businesses are being forced to remain closed.”

Arc Inspirations' first bar was known as Arc on Ash Road in Headingley, which has now been re-branded as Manahatta.

Two of the bars in Harrogate and one bar in York is currently open under Tier 2 restrictions.