The Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow has said it is to remain closed until next year but has hailed the planned reopening of its champagne bar next month.

The hotel will stay shut until until early 2021 while it undergoes a multi-million refurbishment to become a Voco Hotel, the owner Intercontinental Hotel Group's lifestyle hotel brand.

Champagne Central will reopen on September 3 and the bar, which was crowned Best Bar 2020 at the Scottish Hotel Awards, will launch a new evening menu and welcomes guests back for afternoon tea.

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Paul Bray, area manager for IHG North, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing the lights back on in Champagne Central.

“We know Grand Central Hotel holds a very dear place in the heart of Glaswegians and we can’t wait to welcome our guests back into the bar while the hotel remains closed for refurbishment.

“Lovers of the afternoon tea are invited to reserve a table for a much-needed post-lockdown celebration with their nearest and dearest and we will honour those with vouchers, including any that are out of date due to lockdown.

“We have opened a brand-new kitchen connected to the Champagne Central which will allow us to serve dinner in the champagne bar on a Friday and Saturday evening. The new menu offers tapas style meals made with the best Scottish produce, perfect for an after-work bite to eat or special weekend treat with a glass of champagne.

"The beautiful open spaces at Champagne Central lend themselves well to social distancing and we have introduced rigorous hygiene measures throughout the bar for the safety of our guests and staff.

“The hotel currently remains closed as it undergoes a multi-million refurbishment to become Scotland’s first voco hotel.

"We’re excited to bring people together once again within these historic walls in early 2021.”

The 137-year-old Grand Central Hotel at Central Station has welcomed guests including Frank Sinatra and Sir Winston Churchill.

Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis has launched a consultation on plans to cut 650 jobs following a "significant fall" in demand for new vehicles in the UK.

The company plans to cut 200 jobs at its site in Guildford, Surrey, 160 in Falkirk, 90 in Scarborough and 200 in support functions across its bases.

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Managing director Paul Davies said: "We have no choice but to implement these tough decisions to protect the company's future health.

"We remain confident that the situation will improve in time, and we are well placed to take advantage when that happens, but right now we have to adjust to our new economic reality.

"We continue to call upon the UK and Scottish governments to urgently introduce meaningful support to facilitate demand for new buses and coaches, not only to prevent further damage to UK bus and coach manufacturing that could threaten additional production sites, but to help build back better with a green recovery that delivers cleaner air for our towns and cities."

Unite's Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty described the announcement as "devastating".

Mr Rafferty added: "There are a number of measures which the Scottish and UK Government can and must enact with immediate effect.

"This includes the UK Government bringing forward its order of 4,000 new low emission buses and the Scottish Government implementing the Just Transition Commission's recent recommendation that £500 million be invested in the nation's transport infrastructure including the manufacture of green buses.

"Unite is clear that any public money including new orders must be conditional on the company retaining jobs and keeping work in Scotland, and across the UK."

ADL said the job losses were in response to a significant fall in demand for new buses and coaches in the UK as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

It said: "The dramatic fall in demand for new buses and coaches as a result of lockdown, social distancing and low passenger numbers has left ADL with no alternative but to adjust its business to the current economic situation.

"Since the announcement on July 27 of a restructuring programme that puts up to 650 jobs at risk across all of the company's UK facilities, ADL has continued its dialogue with the UK and Scottish Governments and other stakeholders.

"However, there remains no immediate visibility of the stimulus funding urgently required to support operators to place orders, making it necessary to begin the formal consultation on the proposed changes.

"ADL remains firmly committed to working with its customers and supporting the bus and coach operating industry, which is battling an unprecedented crisis.

"The restructuring programme is designed to adjust current capacity without compromising the company's ability to respond to a resurgence of demand in the future."

ADL said it intends to transfer chassis production to its Falkirk factory, affecting around 200 employees in manufacturing and operational support roles at Guildford.

ADL said it was seeking voluntary redundancies to reduce the number of compulsory job losses.

The further easing of lockdown in Scotland has been welcomed by the leisure industry.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that from August 24, bingo halls, casinos and amusement arcades can reopen, some outdoor live events can take place, organised outdoor contact sports will resume for people of all ages, and driving lessons can return.

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Gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports courts can reopen from August 31, brought forward from an original date of September 14.

Andy Thompson, chairman of Anytime Fitness UK, said: "We're delighted that we've now been given a definite date for our clubs to reopen by the Scottish Government.

"It's been a challenging time for us all but we've been preparing throughout lockdown to help our clubs introduce the necessary social distancing and cleanliness measures to keep our members safe and healthy.

"We will only allow individual clubs to open once we're happy that they're fully compliant with the Government's guidelines and both our staff and members' safety can be assured.

"We understand that not everyone will feel comfortable in returning to the gym right away, but we want to reassure them that we're here and waiting for them whenever they're ready.

"It has been a difficult time for our club owners financially with over five months with no income, but today marks the start of the rebuilding process and a clear pathway to getting back on their feet again."

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said staff have worked around the clock to ensure casinos will be safe to reopen.

Mr Dugher said: "This is welcome news and the Scottish Government deserves credit for listening to businesses.

"Like their colleagues in England, Scottish casinos have gone above and beyond what was required of them to ensure they comply with all of the Government's Covid guidelines.

"Scottish casino workers can now look forward to providing an excellent service to their many customers and doing their bit in supporting the UK's economic recovery."

The Federation of Small Businesses Scotland policy chair Andrew McRae welcomed the reopening of leisure sites, but urged the Scottish Government to also permit the reopening of non-essential offices.

He said: "The more firms that can reopen their doors, the fitter the Scottish economy becomes. So it is good news that local gyms and fitness studios are likely to be putting us through our paces at the end of the month.

"However we need ministers to consider the long-term impact of office closures.
"The longer offices are shut, the greater the impact on those town and city centre businesses who rely on office workers' footfall.

"That not only has an impact on the firms in question, but also the viability of some local economies as a whole."

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "The announcement to bring forward the opening date for gyms, indoor pools and indoor sports courts is the right decision.

"Their operators are ready and have prepared and invested heavily to ensure they are fully compliant with all guidelines.   

“While gyms and pools support public health, we would also like the Scottish Government to do more to support the health of the economy by providing firmer guidance on when non-essential offices can re-open. We would ask that this be kept under review with as early a date as possible to return for those who want to. 

“Offices contribute to so many other sectors who rely on their business, especially in our town and city centres. The majority of us are following the guidelines, this needs to continue to ensure we all help build back our economy with no further lockdowns required.”

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