AFTER a tumultuous few days of toing and froing, a Brighton landlord has now been told he can open his beer garden if he makes several amendments.

Brett Mendoza of the Caxton Arms in North Gardens said he was told by council officers that he was unable to welcome customers back this week as the space at the rear of the building was "not Covid compliant".

The news came on Saturday night, just two days before he planned to reopen in line with the loosening of lockdown rules which came into effect today.

The Substantial Meal at the Caxton Arms in Brighton drew plenty of attention

Brett Mendoza, who runs the Caxton Arms in Brighton

This change of the rules allowed hospitality venues to reopen their outdoor seating areas.

Brett spoke to The Argus on Thursday to share his excitement at being able to welcome customers again, even if his capacity was slashed from 160 to 32 as the rules meant he was only allowed to seat people outside.

He installed a temporary new roof, new heaters, new furniture and artwork by Brighton street artist The Postman in the Caxton Arms' beer garden, prompting loyal patrons to rush to reserve a seat.

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not Covid compliant

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not 'Covid compliant'

He took more than 700 bookings in the run-up to the big reopening. Stock was ordered and brought in, the stage was set and everything was ready to go. Then disaster struck.

"On Saturday night someone from the council visited and said it was not Covid compliant," Brett said.

"They said there was not enough air flow for the garden because it was below street level and there were four walls. I appealed the decision, it's ridiculous."

The Caxton Arms in North Gardens

The Caxton Arms in North Gardens

He posted about the decision on Twitter, saying he was "absolutely devastated" to find out, particularly at such late notice after stock had been bought. The Tweet was liked more than 2,800 times, with hundreds of people and publicans replying with messages of support.

Following Brett's appeal, a second council officer visited the pub today to review the situation.

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not Covid compliant

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not 'Covid compliant'

And, subject to a few amendments, this time it was given the green light.

"Amendments to the roof are being done today," Brett said. "We are taking out a panel.

"I can open from 4pm until 10.30pm tomorrow, and I can't wait. It's going to be different, with table service and outdoor seating, but I just can't wait to be back."

However, he said the late nature of the council review, and the lack of urgency from central government in providing clear guidelines to landlords, had provided considerable hoops for those in the industry to jump through.

"I think it's a bit harsh that the council were doing the checks this weekend, they have had since January (the third national lockdown began on January 4)," he said.

"They are going around saying venues have got to make changes.

"And the government guidance only came out last week, they could have put this out way earlier as well.

"If we had known all of this guidance months ago we could have prepared. But this is very wrong."

Brighton and Hove City Council has denied telling any pubs in the city with outdoor seating that they could not reopen today, but instead said it had worked with venues such as the Caxton Arms to determine "what is possible and appropriate at their premises".

A council spokesman said: "We’re very keen for our hospitality businesses to be able to open up safely. We sent them guidance a few weeks ago, and again last week.

"We have also been carrying out a number of proactive visits to advise and support businesses prior to re-opening.

"We haven’t told any of our pubs that have outdoor seating areas that they can’t reopen.

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not Covid compliant

The beer garden at the Caxton Arms in Brighton, which landlord Brett Mendoza says he was told was not 'Covid compliant'

"We have been in discussions with the Caxton Arms about what is possible and appropriate at their premises.

"We have confirmed to them that their rear external area can operate in accordance with current restrictions.

"We’ve been in touch with the pub this morning to try and clear up any confusion that may have occurred over the weekend."