Bosses at P&J Live call for clarity over return of events

Bosses at Aberdeen’s P&J Live have called for clarity from the Scottish Government around when they can reopen - amid fears some events may not start again until well into next year.

The venue - which only opened last August - was forced to close in March because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Most of the events planned there for 2020 have been postponed or cancelled altogether.

Nick Waight, managing director, says they may not have entertainment events at the venue until April 2021.

In an exclusive interview with Original 106, he spoke of the "catastrophic" financial impact of the pandemic.

He said: "One day we had paying customers in the venue, we had revenues coming in from our customers; the next day we didn’t.

"We have had no revenue, effectively, since we went into lockdown yet we’ve got significant outgoings constantly.

"It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that eventually we’re going to run out of money."

Last week, the UK Government announced that business events and conferences will be allowed to resume from October 1 in England, as long as infection rates remain at current levels.

But venues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are relying on guidance from their devolved administrations.

Mr Waight is urging the Scottish Government to give clarity on when venues north of the border can reopen for business events.

He said: "It would really help us. When a business event starts, it’s not just that it can turn straight on. What you’ve got to be able to do is to plan for it.

"We need a lead time to be able to talk with our organisers to get them prepared so that when we can start doing events, we actually have events in the calendar."

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, has echoed those calls.

He said: "I really think we need to see start seeing alignment between our governments or getting some clear justification to make it clear why we’re seeing additional delays in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK.

"That’s not being made clear and it’s not fair to our businesses here - they are being put at a competitive disadvantage.

"P&J Live is a key venue, it’s a major part of our regional economic strategy to attract major global acts, conferences and events here bringing tourists, visitors and the spend that they bring.

"Right now, that tap is turned off and we need to get it turned back on again as soon as we can."

At her coronavirus daily briefing yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Where we can give certainty... we will do that because I absolutely understand the importance to businesses in sectors that are not reopened yet.

"If we don’t think it is possible to do that, I’d rather be frank than give false expectations.

"These regulations in place put an onus on the Scottish Government, legally, that we can’t keep restrictions in place for no reason.

"We have to be satisfied that any restrictions are still necessary for the public health imperative.

"The assessments we do are serious - we have to consider all of the evidence and all of the different factors and come to balanced views and that’s what we’ll seek to do.

"I think it’s only fair at this stage to give a bit of an indication that we might not be seeing further significant change next week other than the reopening of schools in August and, I hope, the pause in shielding advice."