‘City should press ahead with festival’

Aug 3 2007 by Jessica Shaughnessy, Vicky Anderson and Caroline Innes

THE Chief Executive of Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce last night said the city council had “completely disregarded” businesses when it cancelled the Mathew Street Festival.

Jack Stopforth said the Culture Company and City Council had not consulted traders which was “patronising in the extreme”.

But he insisted the city should press ahead with its Mathew Street plans.

He said: “The outdoor stages have been cancelled but the rest of the event in the pubs and clubs can continue as normal. They are giving out completely the wrong message.

“At no stage was the Chamber consulted – despite the fact we represent 2,000 organisations in the city. We could have come up with a collective solution and supported each other.

“If the city council gives the impression there is nothing to come to over the weekend, it could have huge ramifications. Businesses have already ordered extra stock, booked additional staff and printed leaflets and flyers.”

Merseyside’s Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said many of its members would suffer.

Regional chairman Norman Lay said: “This is another slap in the face for business prosperity in the city and I am astounded a suitable alternative plan could not have been devised.”

Bar and restaurant businesses around Mathew Street said they relied heavily on festival revenue – with some generating over a month’s worth of profit in one weekend.

They demanded businesses be compensated not only for lost trade but for the money already paid out for extra stock.

Steve Hess, of Puccino’s bistro, revealed he would now be forced to let staff go and said some companies could go bust.

He called for a protest march against the decision and said: “This is absolutely ridiculous as we survive on the income from the festival.

“It is disgraceful that our own council would do this to us.

“We pay over £6,200 in rates to this council and another £600 for a licence just to be able to have seats outside and this is how they support us.”

Landlord and landlady of the White Star pub, Alfie and Jackie Buxton, said they believed health and safety grounds was a “whitewash.”

Mr Buxton said: “Let’s be honest, health and safety doesn’t come into this.

“The Council and the Culture Company are skint.

“This is the same council that cancelled their New Year’s Eve fireworks display because it was too windy, when displays went ahead in Southport, Manchester - in fact everywhere except Liverpool.

“We have friends flying over from Australia and Norway to come to the festival and those in Norway knew that the festival was going to be cancelled before we did. They are turning the city into a laughing stock.”

Mrs Buxton said she and her husband had run the pub for 18 years and had never known anything like this.

She said: “City of Culture? We can’t even organise a simple street festival.

“To leave it so late before telling everyone is a disgrace. It is an absolute shambles. We just hope that people will still come as this decision will affect everyone.”

Nancy Mooney, landlady of Flannagan’s Apple Irish pub for 20 years, called for sackings.

“We are all furious. We were here when the festival first started. In fact it was us bars and pubs who started it.

“It has always been so popular and such a good thing for Liverpool and now we are to be without it. It stinks.This is the Mathew Street Festival – not the Pier Head Festival.”

John Weston, assistant manager at Bistro Pierre said his team were “absolutely gutted”.

He said: “It is a shame for the people of Liverpool, it is devastating for businesses and disappointing for visitors.

“The clubs, bars and hotels will now all really suffer. Everyone has bought in stock, done their rotas and taken on extra staff.

“We are here supposed to be celebrating our 800th birthday and have just cancelled our biggest and best party.”

Liverpool’s hotels are confident most people will keep their reservations this year, but feared the city would struggle to recover for 2008.

Every hotel said it was fully booked for the festival, many people having booked a year in advance.

Martin King, director of tourism at The Mersey Partnership, said: “It’s a huge disappointment for us as a tourist board and for our members who contribute so much to this showcase event – and it will be a blow to thousands of visitors to the city who have already made their travel and accommodation arrangements.

“However, health and safety is paramount.”

Brian Connor, operations manager at the Crowne Plaza hotel, said: “It is very sad, but if the council had to cancel for health and safety reasons we have to support them.

“We are quite confident it won’t affect us this year, but if people have a good time they come again next year, and that could be less likely now.

“It could take years to recover.”

Paul Flanagan, owner of the Sir Thomas Hotel, slammed the lack of consultation.

He said: “The first I knew of this was when we got a call today cancelling a group booking for 15. They say if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. In Liverpool we pay huge sums and still get monkeys.”

Paul Wilson, owner of the Aachen Hotel on Mount Pleasant, said: “It is so disappointing – not because of any loss of business, we’ll survive, but because the people were running this for 30 years out of a genuine love for the Beatles, and the bureaucrats take over and everything falls apart.”

Eileen Downey, general manager of the Adelphi, said: “It is disappointing, but the festival is part of the bigger picture of Beatles Week, so people will still travel.

“My residents for that weekend are from Canada, American, Japan – very few British people – but the festival attracts the locals as well and ex-pats come back.”

Adam Bell, business development manager at the Malmaison said hotel managers had been in crisis talks.

He said: “We are devastated.

“This was to be the Malmaison’s first experience of the festival and we were ready to enjoy it and embrace it with guests and the people of Liverpool.

“The festival has done so well for the city for so long now and if the tradition doesn’t continues people will forget about it and will forget about Liverpool.

“To revive it will be hard.”

carolineinnes