Published: Friday 14 May 2021
Cllr Catherine Faulks and Cllr Johnny Thalassites have written to businesses to thank them for their compliance ahead of the next stage of lockdown easing.
Dear business owners, hospitality and retail workers,
As we get ready for the next step of lockdown easing, we want to say a huge thank you to all the businesses who have worked tirelessly to follow Covid safety regulations and bring Kensington and Chelsea back to life since 12 April.
So many restaurateurs and publicans have used space creatively and made outdoor dining irresistible, despite facing the coldest April since 1922.
Your efforts to create cosy and welcoming environments has made our borough’s offering irresistible, even in the drizzle! Your excellent hospitality and continued focus on customer safety has made those long awaited reunions with friends and family all the sweeter.
Kensington and Chelsea is only small, but our offer to residents and Londoners is huge when it comes to great places to eat and drink.
We’ve closed some streets to traffic to make more space and today we issued out 500th licence for outdoor hospitality. Our highways and licencing team have been working fast to make sure we get the logistics in place for you to bounceback.
Across all the bars, cafes, restaurants and pubs, there’s around 3,000 outdoor seats for people who live, work and visit our borough to enjoy some much-needed normality.
Shopping is back too, from Portobello Road to Sloane Square, we’re seeing more shoppers return to the streets that make us world famous for retail therapy.
From Monday, more freedoms will return and we know many more businesses are working hard to prepare to open for the first time since January, or extend their current outdoor offer to inside.
If you need advice, want to check the new guidance from Monday or want to apply for an outdoor pavement licence, visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/reopening-business. You can also sign up to our Business Matters e-newsletter for the latest news and guidance direct to your inbox.
You really do make our corner of London the best place to be.
Thank you.
Cllr Catherine Faulks Cllr Johnny Thalassites
Lead Member for Skills and Enterprise Lead Member for Planning, Place and Environment