A city centre business group has warned that one of the country's top party cities could be "under serious threat" unless hospitality businesses are given help to cope with the latest coronavirus lockdown.
NE1 Ltd, which represents hundreds of businesses in Newcastle city centre, has said the latest restrictions in the North East - which see bars and other leisure venues having to close at 10pm, “threaten businesses and the very fabric of Newcastle city centre”.
The organisation had already warned that nightclubs in the city, which bring thousands of tourists to Tyneside, were on the brink of collapse without targeted financial support to get them through the next few months.
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Its warning came after two days of confusion in the North East which culminated with the Prime Minister having to apologise for giving the wrong guidance on whether people could meet in beer gardens in the region.
NE1 chief executive Adrian Waddell has said: “The Government cannot impose such draconian restrictions on businesses without offering immediate and comprehensive financial support.
“The latest announcement has been met by utter despair from businesses who are starting to question the veracity of the lockdown measures and where the empirical evidence is for closing hospitality venues, which from the Government’s own figures account for a mere 3.2% spread of the virus. These companies are now shouldering 100% of the lockdown burden with no meaningful support to compensate.
“Having just reopened and beginning to make progress many businesses feel the latest restrictions have pulled the rug from under them and are being given no timescale for when the lockdown could be lifted.
“NE1 represents businesses in all industry sectors and we know that they all will be impacted upon by these restrictions both directly and indirectly.
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“The nighttime economy which generates £340m per annum and employs 6,500 does not operate in isolation.
“Without these venues and the vibrancy they bring to the city, what we know and love about Newcastle city centre is under serious threat. The absence of this cultural richness that the hospitality sector contributes could have a damaging effect on the city in both the short and long term.
“The city is famed for its nightlife and without immediate financial support, we are concerned about what will be left when we come through this and the impact this will have on our universities, businesses who choose to locate here and all other industry sectors.”
The NE1 warning follows similar words from the British Beer and Pubs Association, whose chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Make no mistake, a 10pm curfew will devastate our sector during an already challenging environment for pubs.
“Pubs were struggling to break even before today and these latest restrictions will push some to breaking point. Removing a key trading hour on top of fragile consumer confidence and the reduced capacity pubs already face will put thousands more pubs and jobs at risk.
“During the current circumstances every hour of trading it crucial to the survival of pubs – for many this curfew will render their businesses unviable.
“The Government now needs to act fast in putting together a comprehensive support package to ensure that thousands of pubs don’t close their doors for good because of this curfew.”