Tables have been put outside the front of a Notts Wetherspoon pub for non-smokers – because of the amount of smokers in the beer garden.
The Last Post, on Chilwell Road, Beeston, features a ‘small’ beer garden to the rear of the pub for smokers and non-smokers.
But managers say the majority of people who use it are smokers, meaning there is often no room for non-smokers to sit outside and enjoy a meal and a drink.
And the pub has been granted a cafe licence to put tables and chairs on the pavement outside, which have been in place since Monday (July 3).
Vickie Poole, the pub’s manager, said: “The beer garden we have to the rear is quite small so it would be quite hard to divide it into smoking and non-smoking.
“It is a small beer garden so quite often we can’t really fit many people in there. Quite often it would be the majority of smokers who use it. We are hoping to extend the beer garden.”
The non-smoking area is opposite the tram line near the Beeston stop, where people get off and walk into the town.
And local residents have reacted to the news by writing comments on a Facebook page.
Susie Bowman wrote: “I guess as long as people behave themselves while sitting out there, no matter who it is, there shouldn’t be a problem.”
David Daykin wrote: “They [The Last Post] have a beer garden out towards the back of the building, there’s no need for spreading out into the square.”
Lesley Harte wrote: “The beer garden isn’t big enough. I think it’s a great idea in this weather.”
Cathy Wooding wrote the non-smoking area is a “good idea for dog owners” and Tony Allen added it will be “easier [for customers] to pinch glasses”.
Jonathan Etheridge wrote: “Ah, how quaint. Tourists and passers-by will be able to see that timeless old English tradition of drinking cheap lager at nine in the morning.”
Pub manager Vickie Poole said Wetherspoon pubs across the UK have beer gardens with sections for non-smokers.
But she added because the garden at the Beeston joint is just ‘too small’ for there to be an adequate divide there for non-smokers, staff made the decision to put the tables outside the front.
