Music Venue Trust (MVT) have said that grassroots venues in the UK are heading for “disaster” without intervention as more venues face closure – repeating the call for large arenas to invest back into the grassroots.Speaking on a panel about the future of grassroots music at Manchester’s inaugural ‘Beyond The Music‘ conference on Friday (October 13), Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said over the last 12 months, “127 music venues of the grassroots type have stopped programming live music or closed down entirely” – something he described as a “fucking disaster” – despite the fact 2023 has been “the best year in history for live music receipts” with the industry making over £765million in 2022.Davyd, who was speaking on a panel alongside representatives from Manchester’s AO Arena, Manchester’s Co-op Live, MIF/Factory International and Rachael Flaszczak, Managing Director of The Snug – a venue that was recently saved by MVT under its new ownership scheme – said “it’s completely unacceptable that our music industry is letting music collapse underneath it while it’s making the maximum amount of money it’s ever made in the history of music.”He continued: “That is ridiculous. It’s totally unacceptable to me.
Business leaders spell out exactly how axing HS2 rail to Manchester would hit city region's economy
28.09.2023 - 12:09 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Business leaders have laid bare the staggering impact axing the northern leg of the HS2 rail line to Manchester would have on the city-region's economy.
As reports suggest Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering shelving the high-speed rail route north of Birmingham, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce painted a bleak picture in terms of jobs and investment.
It comes as Mr Sunak today repeatedly refused to give a 'yes or no' answer when asked directly if HS2 would be coming to Manchester in interviews to BBC local radio stations.
READ MORE: The moment a government minister dodges questions and REFUSES to confirm HS2 will reach Manchester
READ MORE: This was supposed to be the big answer to the North's train problems. So why is it not happening?
The chamber, in an article on its website, said HS2 - the largest infrastructure project in Europe- was already supporting almost 30,000 jobs, including 1,300 apprenticeships.
Contracts have been awarded to more than 3,000 businesses across the UK, they added, with more than half of those awarded to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 96 per cent of the supply chain sitting with UK businesses.
Northern businesses are said by the chamber to have won £1.7 billion worth of work from the construction of HS2, with more expected with the building of the line to Manchester. "It is estimated that the construction of Manchester stage of HS2 will provide 17,500 jobs in the North West," said the chamber.
But in a dire prediction should HS2 to Manchester be axed or delayed, business leaders wrote: "The combination of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail would deliver an estimated 96,000 jobs and 16,800 homes.
"Greater Manchester’s economic output alone
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