Day: June 29, 2020

Leith Theatre Gets Set to Persevere Through Yet Another Closure

It is with regret that Leith Theatre announces that, in light of the widespread disruption to cultural life caused by Covid-19, it has made the difficult decision to remain closed to the public until next Spring.

In a building already suffering the effects of years of neglect, and after weeks of scenario planning and calculating financial risk, it must, like so many other theatres and venues across the country, stay shut to remain a viable business in the longer term.

The colder months of the year are much more challenging in this still establishing business, with a quieter programme and with some parts of the theatre still without heating. The Spring and Summer programmes have been lost, and the current landscape is all so uncertain.

With so many unknowns, to risk re-opening to what would be reduced and socially distant audiences, is a risk simply too high to take and one that could potentially sound the death knell for this unique venue which sits proudly in the heart of Leith.

It is a decision that has not been taken lightly, but one which recognizes that temporary closure is necessary to protect the building and business for the future. 

Most of the staff at Leith Theatre were furloughed as part of the Government Support scheme since the Theatre closed its doors in March. This longer term closure does mean that staff employment is affected and the theatre is in touch with its small team to discuss what that means directly.

However, the closure also brings an opportunity for Leith Theatre; it is with huge thanks to its funders; the Architectural Heritage Fund, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and most recently, Theatres At Risk, that it is able to conserve its limited resources and invest this time in prioritising its strategic next steps and planning for refreshed doors opening once more.

Lynn Morrison, Exec Director of Leith Theatre Trust, said: “The sector is facing incredible challenges and for our small dedicated staff team who have worked tirelessly to bring this venue to back to its feet, it is the hardest thing to see the building closed and the Leith family unable to return.

 “We have to use this opportunity to build a stronger platform for the venue’s future. We are a Theatre at Risk and a business start-up, and we have major refurbishment and construction needs.

“Our committed funding and Government COVID support has granted us this time to review our future business development. We hope we can also explore future fundraising possibilities and consider if further building regeneration works are possible.

“We cannot wait to welcome everyone back through our doors but in the meantime we will keep supporting the community in any way we can”

Since shutdown, Leith Theatre has continued to provide a community lifeline, acting as a collection point for the North East Edinburgh Foodbank, collecting stationery for pupils in partnership with a local primary school and also pipelining fabric and materials for making masks for an Edinburgh craft collective. The doors were also re-opened to support NHS blood banks.

Leith Theatre has already seen periods of closure in its rich history and one day this temporary shutting will join the rest as mere notes in its timeline.

Leith Theatre will, as always, Persevere.

Donations to Leith Theatre can be made via the website or JustGiving or please get in touch with fundraising@leiththeatretrust.org

Struggling pubs need freedom to stock local products to survive post lockdown

CAMRA’s Cheers for Choice campaign calls on pub companies to allow landlords to sell local beers from small and independent breweries.

Every pub across Scotland should be allowed to stock and sell beer and cider from small, local and independent brewers and cider producers, to help them recover post lockdown.

That’s the message from CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, as they launch their new ‘Cheers for Choice’ campaign this week. 

As pubs prepare for reopening next month, CAMRA’s members across Scotland are signing petitions to pub company bosses urging them to allow all landlords to stock local brews. 

Current beer ties mean that most pub tenants are restricted in what they can sell in their pubs and are often banned from putting on the products they know their customers want to drink. 

The campaign wants pub companies’ beer tie arrangements to be relaxed as pubs reopen following the coronavirus lockdown, so that all parts of the industry can pull together and support each other. 

A recent survey of 21,000 beer drinkers and pub goers across the UK carried out by CAMRA found that 68% of people are less likely to go to a pub if it isn’t selling local and independent beer and cider. 

MSPs are also being urged to support the Tied Pubs Bill being put forward in the Scottish Parliament by Labour MSP Neil Bibby. The legislation would give tied pub tenants protections in law, including a right to be able to sell guest beers in their pubs. 

Commenting, CAMRA Director for Scotland Sarah Crawford said:  “Relaxing restrictions for tied pub tenants is the right thing to do – making sure all parts of the industry, no matter how small, are supported in the recovery from COVID-19 and are able to thrive in the weeks and months ahead. 

“Allowing small and independent brewers and cider producers are able to sell into all pubs will also improve consumer choice and allow pub goers to support local brewing businesses. 

“It also makes business sense, with 68% of pub-goers saying they would be less likely to go back to a pub if it doesn’t have a range of brews from small and independent producers. 

“That’s why we are encouraging pub companies to relax restrictions on what beers can be sold when pubs reopen, as well as urging all MSPs to vote in favour of the Tied Pubs Bill later in the year so all landlords can have a legal right to serve guest beers from local and independent breweries.” 

Labour MSP for the West of Scotland Neil Bibby MSP said: “I agree with CAMRA that restrictions on tied pubs should be relaxed to help brewers into the sector and allow more consumer choice for pub-goers.  

“This is a critical time for pubs and brewers in Scotland. They need all the help they can get. One way the Scottish Parliament can help is through tied pub reform. It’s time to stop the big PubCos extracting profits from Scotland and support Scottish publicans who want to invest in their businesses and provide more choice to customers.”

Poppyscotland cancels Sportive cycling event

One of East Lothian’s best-loved events of the year has become the latest to be cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Poppyscotland’s Sportive cycling event sees almost 1,000 riders take to the roads of East Lothian and the Borders in September, with many helping to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the leading Armed Forces charity. However, organisers have taken the agonising decision to cancel the 2020 Sportive.

Gordon Michie, the Head of Fundraising at Poppyscotland, said: “This has been a really difficult decision and one we have not taken lightly, but we feel it is the right course of action.

“There are several key reasons why we have taken this decision, including the ongoing uncertainty regarding mass participation events and when they can safely start again.

“It is imperative that we ensure the safety of our participants, suppliers and volunteers, and we concluded that it would be difficult to keep feeding stations and other facilities at the event clean and managed according to government guidelines.

“By cancelling the event until next year, we have reduced any potential risk to the communities of East Lothian, the Borders and beyond as it is imperative that we maintain the strong relationships that we have built with them over the past seven years.”

However, Mr Michie added: “Yes, this is disappointing news for us all, but we already have the date in the diary for next year’s event with the Sportive returning on Sunday, 26th September 2021. We will be back bigger and better than ever, especially given that next year we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Scottish Poppy Appeal.”

Sgt Frank Parisi, a full-time Reservist with Edinburgh’s very own 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, RAF Reserves, is a member of the Poppyscotland Sportive committee, and has taken part in the event several times over the years.

Like many, Frank is disappointed that this year’s event will not go ahead, but he has a poignant message for Poppyscotland supporters and the wider public: “It was perhaps inevitable that this year’s Poppyscotland Sportive would fall due to the unprecedented pandemic that we are all living through.

“It will be a great miss for avid cyclists such as myself, but I believe it is important that we keep on doing all that we can to support the country’s Armed Forces community during what may be proving a very tough time for many.

“Vulnerable veterans and their families need Poppyscotland’s support more than ever so as well as keeping their registration in place for the 2021 Sportive, I’d encourage everyone to get involved in some of the virtual events such as the Poppy Cycle Challenge to make sure this special charity can continue to provide their life-changing support during these challenging times.”

Participants in the 2020 Poppyscotland Sportive will have their place in the event transferred automatically to next year’s event, but are welcome to a refund. Poppyscotland is also asking riders if they would consider doing a ‘virtual Sportive’ – known as the “Poppy Cycle Challenge” – as an alternative.

Details can be found at https://www.poppyscotland.org.uk/get-involved/runs-and-challenges/poppy-cycle/.

This would have been the seventh consecutive year of the Poppyscotland Sportive, an event that has already raised more than £250,000 for the organisation’s work in supporting veterans and their families across the country.

The Sportive’s lead sponsor is renewable energy firm Fred. Olsen Renewables and the event is also supported by Bramik Foods Ltd, Cirrus Logics and Leith Cycle Co.

Best known for running the iconic Scottish Poppy Appeal, Poppyscotland reaches out to those who have served, those still serving, and their families at times of crisis and need by offering vital, practical advice, assistance and funding. The charity believes that no veteran should live without the prospect of employment, good health and a home, and that we all have part to play in achieving this.

To take part in the 2021 Poppyscotland Sportive, or for more information about the cancellation of this year’s event, please contact Poppyscotland’s Events Team, on 0131 557 2782, or at events@poppyscotland.org.uk, or by visiting www.poppyscotland.org.uk/sportive.

Brand new brasserie back from the brink

AN AMBITIOUS new restaurant that launched just weeks before lockdown has come back from the brink – after its owner was told it was too new to qualify for grants and the furlough scheme.

Pier Brasserie, the £100K transformation of the former Prezzo site, within Newhaven’s prime former Fishmarket building, launched with much excitement and anticipation in February.

Within weeks it became clear that the spread of Covid-19 was set to devastate the sector along with the dreams of owner Mark Patonyi, one of city’s most esteemed restaurant managers, previously front of house at Martin Wishart’s The Honours, Manager of Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond and general manager of Steak Restaurant at Picardy Place.

Now, Mark, 36, alongside head chef and friend Vladimir Garcik and a team of two, has opened a take away offering, enabling foodies to sample high-quality bistro dishes while taking in the views of Newhaven lighthouse and the bridges, from the harbour.

The father of one, who moved to the UK from Hungary in 2007, said: “It may sound cliché, but 2020 has been an unbelievable rollercoaster of emotions.

“From the highs of our amazing opening – and those initial few weeks which saw us packed out – everything came crashing down.

“It looked like we would never be able to recover – and it has been heart-breaking that we can’t even offer our team the small comfort of furlough, as we’re so new we didn’t receive our PAYE reference number until after the 19 March cut-off date.

“We’re still doing everything we can to appeal that, as it just feels so unfair. As a new business we’ve not had any chance of building up cash reserves.

“Up until a few weeks ago it didn’t seem feasible that we could launch a take-away offering, but it got to the point I couldn’t sit around and wait for my fate any longer.”

He has subsequently launched a carefully selected menu utilising the best local and Scottish produce, including seafood landed in the harbour and meat from Donald Russell butchers. Included in the menu will be ciabattas, fish and chips, burgers, salads and desserts – as well as few options available each day for children.

Mark added: “The menu is an honest reflection of the food we were serving in the restaurant prior to lockdown – and easily enjoyed outside or at home.

“We’ve put in place all safety precautions too and had the team practice everything rigorously to ensure we can do this in the safest possible way. It gives us a chance to safely gear up to a potential part-opening in weeks, depending on how guidelines change.

“I also want to give a huge thanks to those that have offered kind messages during lockdown, knowing the situation we’re in.”

Ahead of the February launch Mark had been at the heart of the £100,000+ transformation of the site, project managing each process to ensure they meet his exceptionally high standards – as well as hand-picking a 15-strong team.

For more information about Pier Brasserie or to get first sight of the new menu when it launches, visit: https://www.pierbrasserie.com/ or follow us on Facebook @pierbrasserie and Instagram @pierbrasserie

Laura Ashley stores reopen … for Closing Down sales

British retail heritage brand, Laura Ashley has confirmed that its Edinburgh stores, located on George Street and at Straiton Retail Park, re-open today to commence the closing down sale, with dramatic reductions on fashion. 

Laura Ashley’s extensive closing down sale launches with at least 50% off fashion in-store and online, plus all furniture now 30% off.  Everything has been reduced and has to go, including stock being cleared from the warehouse.  Customers are encouraged to take advantage of these fantastic discounts while stocks last.

The stores are ‘COVID secure’ and adhere to a strict policy of social distancing with a limited number of shoppers allowed in-store at any time, as well as regular deep cleaning.  Card payments are encouraged.

Laura Ashley began in the 1950s, quickly becoming famous for its unique printed fabrics.  Over time, the brand grew to become the household name of today, synonymous with quality fashion, interiors and home furnishings. 

Despite the store closures that will follow the ‘everything must go’ sale, the Laura Ashley brand will remain online (www.lauraashley.com) and at retailers nationwide.

The Edinburgh stores will continue to trade until further notice. 

A spokesman for Laura Ashley said, “There are some fantastic deals to be found in-store, as everything is now reduced and, with at least 50% off fashion, we expect clothing ranges to sell out fast.  We are extremely mindful of the current COVID crisis and customers can be assured that the store will be COVID secure.”

Laura Ashley stores reopen for Closing Down sales

Help Holyrood committee plan a green recovery

Holyrood’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee has launched an inquiry into how Scotland can ensure that a green, just and resilient recovery is central in our response to the social and economic challenges of the COVID-19 health crisis.

The inquiry will focus on identifying the principles, opportunities, key actions for change, immediate priorities, leadership and governance needed to underpin an effective green recovery, as well as the potential barriers to implementation. 

The Committee has issued a call for views to help inform its inquiry over the coming weeks. 

Gillian Martin MSP (above), Convener of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, said: “The global pandemic has been responsible for creating immediate challenges across almost every aspect of modern day living.

“But pre-COVID-19, we already faced the biggest and most immediate challenge of all – Climate Change. We have proven that, as a nation, we can adapt our behaviours and thinking for the greater good, so it makes complete sense that within this mindset, we grab the opportunity to change our habits and thinking to bring us out of this crisis in a green and sustainable way.

“A reframed pathway will help us meet our climate change targets for 2030, 2040 and 2045 at the same time as creating a stronger, cleaner and more resilient economy.” 

“If you have views on how we should progress from here, our Committee would love to hear from you. You may be an environmental expert; belong to a third sector organisation or campaign group; local authority or non-departmental public body or be a member of the public. All of your views are important and help us reach the conclusions we take to the Scottish Parliament.”

The Committee would particularly welcome views on the following questions –

  • Do the principles of sustainable development* (Webpage Annex A) and those proposed by the UK Committee on Climate Change**, provide a comprehensive framework for guiding an effective green recovery in Scotland?
  • What are the key barriers to delivering a green recovery (within your sector and / or community)?
  • What key policies, actions and immediate priorities are needed to deliver a green recovery (within your sector and / or community)?
  • How should the 2021/22 Budget support a green and sustainable recovery and avoid locking in carbon?
  • What funding is needed to deliver a green and sustainable recovery?

The closing date for responses is Friday 7 August 2020.

To respond to this inquiry, please find the committee’s call for evidence here:  https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/115472.aspx 

Next steps for NHS recovery to be discussed by new advisory group

The recovery and renewal of health services is to be informed by the work of a new advisory group which meets for the first time today.

The Mobilisation Recovery Group, led by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, will work to balance the safe resumption of some health care services that were paused during the initial response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency, while retaining capacity in NHS Scotland to deal with the virus.   

The group will advise on the next steps for safe and effective service delivery, as informed by the ‘Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design framework for NHS Scotland’ plan, and will consider its implications for the full range of services. This includes emergency care, diagnostics, cancer services, scheduled care, mental health, social, primary and community care.

Ms Freeman said: “Throughout this pandemic NHS Scotland has remained open, continuing to provide emergency, urgent, cancer and maternity care, support for social care as well as maintaining COVID-19 capacity and resilience.

“Our response has and will continue to be informed by expert advice. As we begin to resume some paused NHS services safely, carefully and in a series of stages, this expert advisory group will help us balance patient and staff safety and NHS Scotland’s ability to respond to the virus.

“This is not a straightforward task and it will take time. The advice of the Mobilisation Recovery Group will be key as we continue to plan how the NHS and its planning partners can safely and effectively respond to the extraordinary demands of COVID-19, both now and in the future.

“The group will help us plan for the next steps, taking into account the whole health and care system, involving primary and community care, as well as engagement with clinical partners, service delivery partners, local authorities and patients. I look forward to its contribution.

“The safety of patients and staff will continue to be our priority and I want to reassure you that we are taking these precautions so that we can safely offer the right care, at the right time, in the right place.”

The Mobilisation Recovery group consists of representatives from around 30 expert and key stakeholders groups, including but not limited to COSLA, the Royal College of Nursing, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties, Alliance Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council and Adult Social Care Standing Committee.

CALA to reopen sales offices in Scotland

ONE of Scotland’s prominent homebuilders has begun the process of reopening its Scottish sales offices and showhomes in line with the latest Government guidelines.

CALA Homes’ on-site sales suites across the East, West and North of Scotland will begin opening by appointment only, from Monday 29 June.

The reopening will allow house hunters to progress their new home journey as lockdown eases, with services such as Part Exchange and Guaranteed Buyer available to help give buyers confidence.

Ravelrig Heights, Balerno

Philip Hogg, Saled and Marketing Director with CALA Homes (East), said: “We are looking forward to welcoming customers back to our sales offices and helping them in their search for their dream home.

“The safety of our customers, our team and the wider community is absolutely paramount, and we’ve put in place a number of new health and safety measures to ensure their wellbeing, which all of our teams have been extensively briefed on.

“We’ve increased the frequency of cleaning in our sales suites and showhomes and will leave time between each appointment for this to take place. There’ll also be some changes throughout the experience, such as protective screens and hand sanitiser stations, and new signage to help customers navigate the sales areas safely.

“While our sales teams won’t be able to accompany customers around showhomes, customers will be given plenty of time to explore these properties on their own, and our advisors will be on hand before and after to answer any questions.

“We want to thank customers in advance for their understanding of the new measures and urge them to make an appointment before coming to see us, to help us safely stagger visitors. Our teams are very excited to be opening our doors again and are looking forward to making dream homes a reality once more.”

Househunters who are unable to visit CALA’s showhomes can still continue their journey with CALA through its two new services, Virtual Guided Tours and Remote Reservations. The services, which are available throughout CALA’s Scottish regions, enable customers to view and reserve homes remotely under lockdown.

The Virtual Guided Tour platform incorporates a video call function into a 360 degree interactive virtual tour programme, comprising more than 30 CALA showhomes. It supports two guests at any time as well as the Sales Consultant, meaning buyers can invite along a family member as they would in person. This has the added benefit of inviting a parent or friend who might live further away, which would not currently be an option at in-person viewings.

While on the tour, buyers can also be left on their own to take more time to privately view the property, before being re-joined by their Sales Consultant. They can also view the home in different ways including via an interactive, 3-D dollhouse and birds-eye view of the home. All these additional tools give a further clear picture of the size and scale of the home and each of its rooms, while the tour itself brings the floorplan to life.

CALA has also introduced Remote Reservations to offer customers the opportunity to secure their next home, with a safety net to do so. Reservation fees made through the service are fully refundable, to offer an extra level of reassurance.

For more information on how you can reserve remotely with CALA, please visit: https://www.cala.co.uk/why-cala/cala-incentives/reserve-remotelyTo view CALA’s developments across Scotland, visit https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sale

‘Torpid and toothless’: Gambling Commission slammed in new report

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Gambling Commission it oversees have an “unacceptably weak understanding” of the impact of gambling harms and lack measurable targets for reducing them, according to a Westminster committee.

In a report published yesterday, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee says the Gambling Commission is not proactively influencing gambling operators to improve protections, and consistently lags behind moves in the gambling industry. Where gambling operators fail to act responsibly, consumers do not have the same rights to redress as in other sectors.

There are an estimated 395,000 problem gamblers in the UK, with a further 1.8 million people ‘at risk’. The effects can be devastating, life-changing for people and whole families, including financial and home loss, relationship breakdowns, criminality and suicide.

The Gambling Commission is a non-departmental public body funded by licence fees from gambling operators. In 2018-19 it took £19 million in these licence fees: less than 0.2% of the £11.3 billion gambling yield that year. In contrast to the Commission’s £19m fees a year, the gambling industry has agreed to spend £60m to treat problem gamblers.

‘Prevention is better than cure’

The government has approached other public health issues on the basis that prevention is better than cure. However, the Department was unwilling to accept the premise that increasing the Commission’s budget to prevent harm would be preferable to spending on treating problem gamblers. 

The Commission increased the value of the financial penalties it enforced from £1.4 million in 2014-15 to £19.6 million in 2018-19, but it doesn’t know whether this has strengthened the deterrent to breaking rules for operators.

The Gambling Commission also has little understanding of the impact of its other regulatory action, including its ban on the use of credit cards for online gambling.

The Committee finds the pace of change to ensure effective regulation has been slow and the penalties on companies which don’t effectively tackle problem gambling are weak. 

Failure to protect consumers

It says the Department and Commission together have “failed to adequately protect consumers” at a time of considerable change in the sector, as gambling increasingly moves online and new games become popular.

The collection of evidence has been patchy and behind the curve as the nature of gambling has changed, and the Commission has failed to develop responses even where it has identified potential problems, such as during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The temporary ban on gambling ads during lockdown has now been lifted – in its response to the report the Commission should provide an update on gambling patterns and industry behaviour during Covid-19, and any regulatory action it has taken to tackle the industry.

The Committee calls for a new, published league table of gambling operators’ behaviour towards their customers, naming and shaming poor performers. It says the Department must urgently begin its long-planned review of the Gambling Act, setting out a timetable within three months of this report.

The Committee concludes:

  •  The Commission should develop a plan for how it will be more proactive in influencing the industry to treat consumers better, including using reputational tools such as league tables indicating how well each operator treats its customers
  • The Commission should urgently investigate the impact of fixed odds betting that falls under “lottery” legislation and is accessible by 16 and 17-year-olds
  • The Commission and the Department should urgently look at online fixed odds betting and report back to the Committee with how they intend to increase effectiveness of online harm reduction within three months. 
  • The Commission needs to “radically improve” the data and insight it collects to know what is going wrong for consumers and develop better information on its own performance: Within three months the Department and Commission should set out to the Committee what actions they will take to ensure they have the research and evidence base needed to better understand gambling problems, and to design an effective regulatory response.
  • The Department and Commission should work together to strengthen consumer rights assess the impact on consumers of gaps in redress arrangements and examine options for increasing statutory protections with an individual right of redress for breaches of the Social Responsibility Code of Practice.

Chair’s comments

Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “What has emerged in evidence is a picture of a torpid, toothless regulator that doesn’t seem terribly interested in either the harms it exists to reduce or the means it might use to achieve that.

“The Commission needs a radical overhaul: it must be quicker at responding to problems, update company licence conditions to protect vulnerable consumers and beef up those consumers’ rights to redress when it fails.

“The issue of gambling harm is not high up enough the Government’s agenda. The review of the Gambling Act is long overdue and an opportunity to see a step change in how problem gambling is treated. The Department must not keep dragging its feet, we need to see urgent moves on the badly needed overhaul of the system.

“Regulatory failure this comprehensive needs a quick pincer movement to expose the miscreants and strengthen those they harm.”