Hammer blow as curfew cuts London diners and shoppers by a fifth

Central London’s painful recovery from lockdown has been dealt a hammer blow by Boris Johnson’s latest restrictions, with the number of shoppers and diners slumping by around a fifth.

Figures seen by the Standard show that the 10pm curfew for restaurants and pubs, which came into force last night, combined with the advice to work from home had an immediate impact that will heighten the threat to West End and City businesses.

On Wednesday, the day after the Prime Minister announced the measures in a sombre televised address, the number of people in the West End was down 18 per cent on the same day last week, in one of the biggest falls ever recorded.

In Piccadilly Circus, a global emblem for the vitality of London, footfall was down 26 per cent according to figures from the Heart of London business group.

Restaurants also saw a sudden drop with revenue down 20 per cent yesterday compared with last week at D&D London, the capital’s biggest fine dining group, which includes venues such as Quaglino’s and Le Pont de la Tour.

However, there was growing evidence of “curfew chaos” last night and warnings that it could be worse at the weekend.

Sam Harrison, owner of Sam’s Riverside in Hammersmith, said the 10pm closing time meant “we had 60 people all leaving at the same time and then struggling to get Ubers.

“We had to present some bills while people were still eating their main courses. We had a loss of sales from desserts and drinks”.

Ride-hailing app Bolt said it saw a 20 per cent spike in demand for cars last night.

There was also evidence that commuters are avoiding public transport again, with the number of people on the Tube during the morning rush hour dropping by 20,000 since Monday. Yesterday ridership on the Underground fell 2.3 per cent to 771,000.

Meanwhile, Westminster scaled down its plan to keep its al fresco dining scheme going through the winter with road closures in Soho and Covent Garden now only being extended until the end of October.

In a statement, the local authority said: “We will keep working with residents, businesses and other key partners to identify local schemes that could benefit specific locations at certain times throughout the year in a safe manner that adheres to all current guidelines. This could include supporting events such as Christmas fairs or al fresco dining at certain times where it suits an area and enjoys local support.

“We are sure that businesses will also want to continue to play their part by being good neighbours and ensuring they are compliant with all of the updated regulations, such as the 10pm closing for bars, pubs and restaurants.”

There was a modest welcome for the new package of measures to support businesses through the winter but owners of nightclubs and other late-night venues said it would not help them.

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the Winter Economy Plan had been met with “shock, horror and despair” by its members.

He said: “The night-time economy has been totally disregarded by government policy. The government narrative has delivered empty promises and left us an industry in exile. Debt terms have been driven further down the road for a sector that is already overburdened financially, with many of our members languishing in up to three quarters of commercial rent arrears with no certainty on whether they can pay this.”

Meanwhile, figures showed that demand for workspaces in London slumped over the summer. Workspace provider IWG said business had fallen by 40 per cent in central London between June and August while

jumping 22 per cent across the UK as a whole.

Chief executive Mark Dixon said: “Whilst there is undoubtedly an aversion to travelling far to the office, when guidance allows, companies still need to have offices that employees can drop into for social interaction, meetings and business reviews.

“Put very simply, you don’t want to meet people in your front room or bedroom.”

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