The management of the Deacon in Lytham Square have made the decision to close the off sales offer in response to Fylde and the whole of Lancashire going into Tier 4 restrictions. The regulations permit the provision of off sales but the owners of the Deacon felt that this was not consistent with the leading message under Tier 4 of ‘Stay at Home’ and wanted to support the wider initiative to encourage only leaving home for essential reasons.
The Chief Executive of Fylde Council Allan Oldfield said “the Deacon have been operating a very good off sales service that has always been fully compliant with the regulations, even bringing in additional measures to manage any queuing and provide COVID guidance advice to customers. The council have had a great relationship with the team at the Deacon who have shown how off sales should be done, I was astounded that the T4 regulations were no different to T3 yet people should stay at home. The decision by the Deacon is the right thing to do, just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be, and they have seen that by doing this they have contributed to getting back to normal as quickly as possible which is our common goal. I would like to thank the team at the Deacon for their support”.
Off sales are permitted under Tier 4 regulations but people cannot gather and cannot leave the home for none essential reasons. If off sales are purchased people will be required to leave the area to consume food and drink.
