Mark Davyd, CEO and Founder, Music Venue Trust, has released the following statement in response to the Government’s announced support package for British pubs.
“Music Venue Trust warmly welcomes today’s government statement on urgent and immediate Business Rate relief. We want to thank MPs, Mayors, unitary and local authorities, and especially music fans and communities across the country who have spoken up on this issue and ensured that Grassroots Music Venues are included in the immediate relief. We will be exploring with our Music Venues Alliance venue members if the proposed 15% reduction in rates payable, followed by a freeze for 2 years, is sufficient to manage this crisis, which threatened to close hundreds of venues in the next three years. There is a commitment to review the calculations at the core of this issue, and we will fully support that review of Rateable Values. Grassroots Music Venues, and other crucial parts of the music ecosystem such as recording studios and rehearsal spaces, require a specific valuation process that recognises their cultural and community value and we hope this review can deliver that.”
“Attention now turns to venues in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, where the same core issue – extreme revaluations of cultural spaces resulting in unaffordable rates demands – need to urgently be addressed.”
