Oldham Council is to restrict the opening hours of a business because the large numbers of people visiting it are potentially creating a serious public health risk.
Grandpa Greene’s, Diggle must stay shut at weekends until at least March 4. The closure order will be reviewed every 7 days.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet Member for COVID-19 Response, said: “Our staff have visited Grandpa Greene’s on a number of occasions, and the business owners have worked with us.
“But over the last few weeks we’ve received numerous complaints about large numbers of people congregating around the site and not social distancing – potentially helping to spread Coronavirus and therefore creating a clear threat to public health.
“Everyone must follow the restrictions, or you could be putting lives at risk.
“One of the main issues here is people travelling from outside the area to visit, which means it is getting really busy at weekends.
“Having looked at the evidence available to us again and having taken advice from Public Health colleagues we have now taken the decision to close the business on Saturday and Sundays.
“We never want to close any business, however, if we didn’t act then we would have been failing in our duty to protect staff, customers and the wider community.
“We’ll continue to monitor the situation over the coming weeks and will also be visiting other premises in the area.
“Please continue to exercise and get fresh air locally rather than travelling.”
