‘This could well be the fatal blow to England’s cinemas’
PARKWAY OWNER’S BLEAK PREDICTION FOLLOWING THE NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS
THE owner of cinemas in Cleethorpes and Louth has warned the new restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus could be a fatal blow for businesses. Richard Parkes was hoping the entertainment venues at Parkway in Cleethorpes and the Playhouse Louth could reopen to give visitors some Festive cheer.
But the Government’s latest announcement, putting a closure order on all indoor entertainments, has had a devastating effect.
Richard, the son of Parkway’s founder, the late Gerald Parkes who opened Parkway 16 years ago, told your Grimsby Telegraph: “The announcement that the area is in Tier Three is obviously concerning for all, and we can only hope it will have a dramatic impact and help save lives and keep people safe and well.
“But for cinemas, it’s devastating. The new tighter restrictions in Tier Three have included cinemas for the first time, and frankly there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that justifies it. “Visiting a cinema involves sitting in an allocated seat, socially-distanced within your own bubble, wearing a face covering and not talking. We really, really believe that cinemas should not be closed. There hasn’t been a single case of Covid transmission linked to a cinema.”
He added: “People don’t generally come here to talk to each other, like in offices or restaurants. They don’t often sing or raise their voices either, like in places of worship or pubs. They don’t get out of breath and work up a sweat, like in gyms.
“They aren’t surrounded by people outside their bubbles, like when shopping. And they generally don’t run their fingers through each other’s hair either. “People are crying out for an escape from reality for a few hours, and cinema can offer them that in a Covidsecure environment.
“We had loads of brilliant plans in place for a fabulous Christmas. Working in partnership with Talegate theatre we created a brilliant mini-pantomime, and a whole selection of classic Christmas films to enjoy again on the big screen.
“With the announcement we’re now closed it means that we just won’t be able to do what we wanted. We’ve got almost 100 people in our team across the cinemas, and we’re incredibly grateful that the furlough scheme means that we’re able to keep supporting them now and through Christmas. “But costs like rent, power, insurance and everything else just keep coming and coming and we have no income at all to pay our bills. The whole UK cinema industry is devastated by this change to include cinemas in Tier Three for the first time.
“We lost Easter when Covid began, and we’ve lost almost the whole of summer too. To now be told that we’re very likely to lose the whole of Christmas really could be the fatal blow to cinemas in England.”