Food & Drink
Over 170 hospitality businesses from Swansea and Cardiff write joint open letter to Welsh First Minister urging action to help night time economy
Unite For The Night has been formed by Swansea Hospitality Forum and Cardiff Licensees Forum to be a voice for the night time industry as the Welsh Government tackles the Coronavirus pandemic.
It represents over 170 independent operators across both cities as well as big industry names like Marston’s, Stonegate Group and Wetherspoons.
New figures estimate that by the time clubs can reopen, there will be between 40% and 50% fewer operating compared to pre-Covid figures.
A report published in February by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Night Time Economy revealed 52% of nightclub staff, 36% of music venue staff, 32% of bar staff and 25% of pub staff were made redundant within the sector over the last year.
Unite For The Night say that Cardiff and Swansea have not, traditionally worked together closely on such matters, but these are times of great existential threat to the night time industry and both cities are standing shoulder to shoulder to save our nightlife across Wales.
In an open letter to the First Minister, Mark Drakeford they urge for action to help the ‘desperate night time economy in Wales’.
The group, made up of members from Cardiff Licensees Forum and Swansea Hospitality Forum, say their members need clarity, support and a clear roadmap out of lockdown. The group say they feel this is sorely lacking from the Welsh Government at the moment and members tell them they are facing ruin.
They say that the First Minister recently announced that pubs and restaurants can open indoors from 17 May but has given no further guidelines or clarity around how we are expected to operate with social distancing in place or around financial support for those within their industry, such as nightclubs who still won’t be able to open for business.
There are also calls for a clear roadmap out of lockdown to enable businesses to plan for their survival if social distancing is likely to be in place in Wales until the end of 2021, as has been suggested by Mark Drakeford on a number of occasions.
They are also concerns that the financial support that Welsh night time businesses have been able to apply for will come to an end once businesses in the rest of the UK re-open. And, if so, what financial support will be available for Welsh night time businesses if our opening dates in Wales lag behind those in the wider UK.
Read Unite For The Night’s open letter to Mark Drakeford here in full:
| Dear First Minister Firstly, congratulations on your success in the recent election to the Welsh Senedd and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this letter. We realise you have many pressing items on your agenda, post-election, but we hope you agree that the survival of the night time economy in Wales should be at the top of that list. This is particularly important at a time when rebuilding the Welsh economy is paramount. Unite For The Night wrote to you before 6 May to express the deep concerns of our 170 members, who are at the helm of night time businesses in Cardiff, Swansea and beyond, about the very difficult circumstance our night time economy continues to face here in Wales. The situation is particularly dire for our clubs and venues, with many having been lost to the pandemic already. We hope you received our letter and have given it your close attention. As you know, the entire night time industry has been hit particularly hard by the country’s many lockdowns – the majority of our pubs, bars and restaurants have now been shut for the majority of the last year, and nightclubs are one of the few businesses that have been forced to close for the entirety of the Covid crisis. Even when certain restrictions have been eased for some types of hospitality businesses, ongoing curfews along with limits to the ability to sell alcohol and the need to distance tables or to serve customers outdoors, has continued to hamper any recovery that the night time industry might enjoy. We are particularly attuned to the dire situation our clubs and night time music venues face. As yet, they have no mooted date for re-opening. We find this situation staggering and we would urge you to address this urgently. England has set an opening date for its night time businesses of 21 June. Can you tell our members why venues in Wales don’t have a date to work towards, particularly in light of the success of the Liverpool pilot event? We are also very concerned that the Welsh Government is clinging to the two-metre social distancing rule and blanket mask-wearing and you have stated on a number of occasions that social distancing will persist in Wales until the end of the year. Even if night time businesses were to be given an opening date, these ongoing restrictions would make reopening unviable for clubs and venues. Unite For The Night puts it to you that these businesses have already been able to operate safely and they have evidenced this to you, but this evidence has been largely ignored by Welsh Government. Our night time businesses routinely use air exchange equipment which gives them a safer operating environment – this is something retail businesses have been allowed to open without. We are very experienced when it comes to managing people-focused businesses safely, but this is being overlooked. If our valuable night time economy businesses are to have any chance of survival, they also need continued financial support. Our members tell us of the crippling debts they are burdened with – with no light at the end of the tunnel. The partial lifting of restrictions for some hospitality businesses on 17 May is welcome, but, as you know, these businesses have been given no clarity or direction on what the conditions for this re-opening will be. For example: – How many households will be able to book tables? – How many people will be allowed to sit at tables? Of course, we understand that the safety of consumers in Wales is paramount, and it is important that our night life does not reopen fully before it is safe to do so. However, our 170 members across Cardiff and Swansea are finding it increasingly hard to understand why there is such a hesitancy from Welsh Government to create a detailed guide for our industry when England has been given a very clear roadmap. We understand the desire for caution and the imperative need for this to be the last lockdown we ever face, but if other sectors can be given clarity on how and when they can operate, the night time economy deserves to be treated with the same respect. We feel we are dangling on the end of a string with countless jobs and livelihoods in Wales hanging in the balance. The night time economy is the UK’s fifth-biggest industry, accounting for at least eight percent of the UK’s employment and for annual revenues of £66b. Many of the hard-working men and women who run our clubs, pubs and venues here in Wales are facing ruin and are considering leaving the industry if they don’t receive a credible roadmap for the easing of social distancing that might make their businesses viable once more. Our members need to make decisions about their businesses and desperately need clarity on: – What are the conditions for re-opening on 17 May, particularly around social distancing? – The opening date for clubs and venues – Will social distancing and mask-wearing remain in force? – What financial support is on offer for the night time sector – can you confirm a Restart Grant, similar to those announced for England and Scotland? Our members are key investors in their local economies, they are key employers of bar staff, chefs, performers, sound and lighting engineers, promotors and others; and our night time businesses provide safe, enjoyable recreation for millions of us. Without the clarity they so desperately need, many are considering leaving the sector for good. We hope you will agree that the industry is worth protecting for the future. Wales’ towns and cities without functioning and thriving night time businesses are soulless places for residents and visitors alike. We are, thankfully, entering into a more positive period now, with the success of the vaccine rollout and the steady fall in the number of people in Wales contracting Covid. We hope this gives you the impetus you need to give clear and emphatic direction on this matter – the survival of many hundreds of night time businesses depends upon it. We urge you to consider the grave concerns and the threatened livelihoods of our 170 members and their employees, and we look forward to hearing your views on this matter. Yours sincerely Unite For the Night Unite For The Night represents over 170 businesses in Swansea and Cardiff. Visit www.uniteforthenight.com |
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