NIGHTCLUB bosses fear extending Covid restrictions beyond June 21 would be “catastrophic” for late night businesses, as government bosses consider a two-week delay.
Pushing back the lifting of all Covid rules would allow additional vaccinations to keep the country safe with businesses bracing themselves for another blow.
Having already been closed almost 16 months, Colin Goodwin - manager at Colors nightclub in Basildon - says both his team and customers would be disheartened to see the venue’s re-opening once again delays.
It follows reports the landmark date could be delayed between two weeks and a month, enabling all over 50s to be fully vaccinated and leaving enough time for the jabs to take effect before restrictions are lifted.
He said: “If this is delayed it will be very disappointing given the amount of work that it’s taken to get the building ready for re-opening again after however many months.
“Some of our staff are still off where the club hasn’t opened just yet and are looking forward to coming back to work. I’d feel really sorry for them if it were to happen, but like everyone else we’ve been left in the dark.
“We’ve painted, got decor designers in and had the sound system updated. It’s like we’ve had a mini-refurbishment to prepare for this.”
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Basildon’s Unit 7 has also called for this month’s “Freedom Day” to go ahead as planned after the industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.
The team, who launched their Pub in a Club events to battle the hardships of the pandemic, even transformed their dancefloor into a temporary pub in a bid to welcome back customers when restrictions eased in May.
A spokesman from REKOM UK, which operates Unit 7, said: “The late night sector, such as clubs, have not been able to operate since the first lockdown in March 2020, which has had a devastating impact.
“Fortunately for Unit 7, it’s future is secure as Deltic Group was brought out of administration by REKOM last December, but other operators are not as fortunate and many venues will not reopen.
“Further delays will only make this situation worse, with a huge knock-on impact for businesses. We are all geared up for opening responsibly on June 21 after almost 16 months of closure and any further delay would be catastrophic for the late night sector.
“A club without social distancing is no different to a pub without social distancing, come midnight on a Friday or Saturday night.
“In fact clubs, such as Unit 7, have more space, the latest ventilation systems – similar to those found in an operating theatre – and are masters of crowd control.”
Stu Whiffen, from the Pink Toothbrush in Rayleigh, is willing to see re-opening delayed if it means customers and his team are kept safe.
He said: “We want to open as soon as we possibly can, but as long as it’s safe to do so.
“It would be sad and we want to see our customers badly, there’s also a whole new generation that are now old enough to go clubbing but haven’t been able to.
“But if infections are rising and it has to be pushed back a couple of weeks then that’s what we’ll have to do.”
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