The night-time economy is back on the political agenda, with fresh promises of support for pubs, clubs, music venues and the towns and cities they call home. But what could that support actually mean for UK venues?
We caught up with Troxy’s Tom Sutton-Roberts to talk grassroots venues, government support, the challenges facing the sector and why there’s still reason for cautious optimism.
Is the government finally taking the night-time economy seriously?
Hopefully. But anyone who’s worked in live events for more than five minutes has heard this before. New government. New promises. More support for pubs, clubs and music venues.
The words are welcome. The important bit is what happens next.
Business rates relief would help. Protecting local venues would help. Proper support for town and city centres would help.
At this point the devil is in the details. Who qualifies? How long does it last? And will it reach the venues that actually need it?
Grassroots venues are where artists start, communities meet and future headliners play to 50 people and a confused sound engineer. They are vital as the feeder venues for places like Troxy and once those venues disappear, they’re very hard to replace.
The last few years have been brutal. Hundreds have closed since the pandemic, and many of those still open are working on margins that would make most businesses quietly leave the room. That’s why Richard Parker’s suggestion of a dedicated Minister for the Night-Time Economy makes sense but is in the wake of regional roles of this kind having been cut.
The sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, brings billions into the economy and gives our towns and cities much of their character.
It probably deserves someone in government whose actual job is to think about it.
At Troxy, we’ve been fortunate enough to invest in the building, improve the audience experience and restore parts of the venue that had been forgotten for years.
It hasn’t been easy or cheap, but we’re lucky as many venues aren’t thinking about growth and how to improve and invest in their buildings, they’re thinking about getting through next month.
So yes, I’m cautiously optimistic. The announcements sound good. Now comes the less glamorous bit: making them work.