Criterion owner Steve Latto has warned half his staff face redundancy if his St Andrews pub loses its outdoor seating.
Steve said outdoor seating built at the start of the pandemic on South Street – part of the Spaces for People initiative – has helped his business to flourish.
“From where we are, it’s a very positive thing,” he said.
“We’ve had the benefit of the Spaces for People.
“It has been so well-received during the summertime. Tourists and visitors lapped it up.
“Without that area, we [the business] would not have survived Covid.”
Steve owns The Criterion bar on South Street with his wife, Hazel.
Fife Council is holding a consultation to find out what people would like to see happen with the bustling street.
Visualisations in the council’s consultation show South Street without pavement tables. Other pubs in the region have lost outdoor seating post pandemic.
Steve said: “It would [have] a massive impact on us.
“We need to know, because if the tables and chairs go, it takes away half our business.
“We would half our staffing levels [and] make circa 12 to 13 people redundant.”
South Street in St Andrews ‘like Paris’
Other St Andrews residents want the planters, tables and chairs on the pavement removed.
The extended pavements, or build outs, to make room for the outdoor seating came at the cost of 44 parking spaces on South Street.
But Steve believes in the benefits of the more continental style layout.
“Everybody in our stretch of South Street has benefited from it.”
“If you think about going abroad – Paris, Rome – you’ve got these street cafés that are vibrant places to go.
“If we went back to the days of old, we wouldn’t have any of that.”
Tony Waterston is the chairman of campaigning group, St Andrews Space for Cycling.
He is also positive about the current layout of South Street.
“The streets are much pleasanter for people to be in when they are not dominated by cars,” he said.
“We’ve got to face up to the future that fewer cars is beneficial.
“It’s a very congested area and the pollution [cars cause] is damaging to people.”
Elderly residents have voiced concerns over limiting car use in St Andrews, calling it “unrealistic” for older people to be expected to cycle into town.”
But Tony said that is not the goal.
“The aim is not to push everyone into using a bicycle. We can use a lot of alternatives that make life more pleasant for everybody.”
Fife Council’s consultation closes on January 11.
Conversation