Dundee publican throws in the towel due to Covid-19 restrictions

A Dundee publican has been forced to throw in the towel thanks to Covid-19.

Paul Rae, who took over the rental of Albert Bar just months before the first lockdown last year, said he will be forced to hand back the keys on January 31 because he can no longer afford to continue.

Meanwhile, the pub’s owner, Mike Johnston -who also owns the Arctic Bar and the Abode – said he fears that Mr Rae is “being made an example of”.

Mr Rae said: “I am absolutely devastated to lose the bar. I have worked solidly to build up the business but now I have no options. I will have to shut up shop – I can’t afford to go on any longer.”

Mr Rae said he stands to lose at least £12,000 after being accused of breaching Covid-19 regulations and receiving a temporary ban.

However, while he is prepared to accept he may have broken licensing law, Mr Rae is adamant he did not breach any Covid-19 rules.

https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/dundee-pub-owners-fury-at-covid-licence-ban-after-being-accused-of-covid-regulations-breach/

He claims he was not made aware that accepting a ban from Dundee City Licensing Board would prevent him receiving a £2,000 per month strategic framework grant.

The grant, which is administered by local authorities, also provides a £6,000 top-up to smaller businesses like the Albert Bar.

Mr Rae said: “I am absolutely gutted it has come to this. I simply can’t afford to go on if  I don’t get this grant money.

“We are obviously not earning but there are still bills to pay, including rent, utilities bills for the pub etc.

“There is no way I can afford to continue so I am now forced to hand my keys back.”

Pub owner Mr Johnston said: “This is a very depressing situation and I am very concerned that the city council are just making an example of Paul as a warning to other city landlords.

“I think it is very wrong that he is not receiving his grant money because of the ban. It seems way too harsh to force him out of business.”

Mr Johnston said he wasn’t throwing Mr Rae out of the pub but that Mr Rae had taken the decision himself.

He said: “He is now five months behind with his rent because of Covid-19 and the lack of grant money so obviously this can’t continue.

“I don’t think what the council is doing to him is right. ”

Mr Johnston said that he would now have to look for another tenant once pubs open again but thought that would be very difficult given the present situation.

He said that he also had concerns about how easy it was for publicans to access grant money.

He said: “At the start of the first lockdown I had two applications for grants knocked back by the city council who said they could use their own discretion as to whether I should get the money or not.

“They said they wanted access to my bank accounts.”

Mr Johnston said that after appealing he was given grant funding.

A letter issued to Mr Rae by Dundee City Council last month stated: “We have been informed by the Licensing Board that at Thursday’s Board meeting you had your licence temporarily suspended for one or more Covid related breaches.

“As such you are no longer eligible to receive the above grant and we would ask that you repay the grant to the account below within the next seven working days.”

Mr Rae said: “I continue to believe that I was not guilty of breaching Covid-19 regulations – I believe that effectively I’m being thrown out for being in my own pub after hours cleaning my pipes and because there was a glass with an inch on vodka in it at the time the police came into the pub.”

Meanwhile, other businesses have reported different obstacles in accessing grants.

For example, self-employed people who run small businesses are not required by law to have a business bank account but they are required to access new support grants.

Banks swamped by referrals are, in many cases, not currently opening accounts to new clients.

Alison Henderson of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce said: “Undoubtedly many businesses in the city have been able to access grant funding but it is not clear if some are getting all they are entitled to, and this seems to have particularly been the case for smaller business.”

“There is confusion out there and some people are not managing to access all the correct information they need. ”

She added: “Some people are not qualifying because of the criteria required and there has also been an issue with the banks facing difficulties in servicing all the people that are trying to set up business accounts to qualify.

“Hopefully this will soon begin to improve and local authorities and banks have assured me that steps are being taken to address this.”

In a report presented at the policy and resources committee meeting, it was revealed Dundee City Council had delivered Covid-19 business support grants to 2,374 businesses totalling £26.875 million, newly self-employed hardship grants to 183 individuals totalling £366,000, as well as hardship grants to 186 businesses totalling £281,425, contingency fund grants to soft play centres and nightclubs totalling £75,000, and strategic framework business grants to 164 businesses totalling £605,700.