Anger over move to ban patio heaters

07 February 2008 by
Anger over move to ban patio heaters

The pub trade has slammed a proposed ban on patio heaters as "entirely unnecessary" after the European Parliament backed calls to phase them out because of their contribution to carbon dioxide emissions.

MEPs want the European Commission to consider a ban on the outdoor heaters as part of wider improvements to energy-efficiency legislation. One MEP said that gas-powered heaters emitted more CO2 than the average car.

But the major pub groups insisted the heaters they use are "as environmentally friendly as possible" amid reports that a ban would cost the sector £250m in lost trade.

Giles Thorley, chief executive of Punch Taverns, said: "It's ironic this comes at a time when we've all invested heavily in slightly heated areas after the Government banned smoking. Most of our heaters are the electric type. Also, many have movement sensors and only turn on when there's someone under them so are as environmentally friendly as possible."

Shepherd Neame retail director Nigel Bunting added: "A ban on the sale of all patio heaters is entirely unnecessary. We use electrical radiant heaters, which only heat the body, not the air, and emit just 10% of the amount given out by gas heaters. All of us want a safe and responsible leisure environment, but to ban these devices without good reason is an overreaction."

Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall, who authored the original report, told Caterer that the proposals were a long way off becoming law. "People are worried about the investments they've made, but this is more to do with what will be on the market in the future," she said.

"This is much more about looking at the longer term and people need to be concerned about the environment when buying these products."

Conservative MP Nigel Evans called on the Government to protect the British pub industry by ignoring a ban on heaters.

Read more on pubs and bars at www.caterersearch.com/pubsandbars

By Christopher Walton

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking