Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, has praised cultural venues in Milton Keynes as ‘fantastic venues that support incredible talent’ in a House Of Commons speech.
The Prime Minister’s roadmap has set out the return of the cultural events with indoor performances of up to 1,000 people and outdoor performances of up to 5,000, as well as indoor entertainment all return from 17th May at the earliest.
In a debate on these COVID-19 restrictions, the local MP namechecked Wolverton’s Unit Nine, MK Theatre and the MK City Discovery Centre amongst others.
He said: “Britain is home to world-class cultural, arts and heritage organisations—in fact, world-leading ones. We do not say that enough—and Milton Keynes is no exception.
“With live music venues The Stables and Unit Nine, visitor experience attractions MK City Discovery Centre and Gulliver’s Land, and arts venues such as MK Theatre and MK Gallery, there is no shortage of fantastic venues that support incredible talent.
“I could spend the rest of the debate talking about their huge impact locally and further afield.
“Venues in Milton Keynes cannot wait to throw open their doors again, and I am pleased that the road map has given much-needed clarity to all of us about when we will get there.”
The local MP also once again encouraged councils to support businesses with the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) as he revealed his inbox gets filled up with businesses saying they’re struggling to access support.
So far Milton Keynes Council has been provided with £7.9 million from the ARG which can be used to support local businesses at the Council’s discretion.
Ben continued: “I know from the businesses that contact me that, despite that clear end in sight, many in the sector are worried that they just will not make it until the end of spring.
“I stood in this place only last week to call for councils to do more to release the Government funds that they have to support local businesses, and still, this afternoon, emails were coming into my office from businesses that have asked and asked about how they access these funds from the council and have been told to wait or to look elsewhere.
“The Government have released billions in funding through the Culture Recovery Fund and billions more in the additional restrictions grant.
“The sector should now be given the confidence it needs, with councils releasing the funds that are desperately required for venues to reopen safely later in the spring.
“With the right financial support in place, with a concise and clear road map guided by the data, and with everyone doing their bit in keeping cases down, we can be confident that the cultural and entertainment sectors can bounce back stronger than ever.”