THE government’s hugely successful Eat Out to Help Out scheme should be brought back in October or November, or possibly both, says restaurant entrepreneur Andy Lennox.

The founder of Zim Braai believes it would be a bigger boost to the hospitality sector than carrying the initiative over into September.

Andy, who also established the influential hospitality campaign and lobby group Wonky Table at the beginning of lockdown said: “Eat Out has been brilliant. It was just the injection we needed after everything in the sector had been closed down for so long.

“We were calling for a ‘spread the week’ initiative right at the beginning of all this, so it’s been great.

"Some people were saying, don’t do it in August because we would have been busy anyway, but we would never have been this busy and it really galvanised the industry. And we have been getting trade that was never there before.

Andy said: “We have been talking to people in government and UK Hospitality and the thinking is that we press the pause button at the end of August, the schools go back, we take stock and see how trading is in September and then get another impetus in October or November.

"It won't be as busy then, but traditionally it's the quietest period for everyone.

"At the moment we are in false bubble, which is okay, but it's not real. We need to work out what trading actually looks like.

"Don't get me wrong, we are having record breaking weeks and we're doing more business than we have ever done, but it is still artificial.

“Another thing that people don’t see is that supply chains are really stretched and a pause will give an opportunity for suppliers to catch a breath."

Next year needs careful planning to make the most of the conurbation's assets, he added.

He wants to see a park and ride in place for next summer.

"I can't understand why we didn't have one for this summer when the weather has been incredible.

"It has been done for every air festival, so it should have been pretty straightforward for BCP Council to do. There's your congestion problem sorted.

"For next year we to have to have this in place and have a much better seafront offering and I am looking at this at the moment.

"But overall I think BCP has done good job, very proactive an supportive of the hospitality sector."

Andy said Bournemouth should be comparing itself to the South of France and California rather than Blackpool and Brighton.

"At one point we were doing this so now we have got to up our game. Let's be ambitious."