Brummies share views on shrinking nightlife

National World - LocalTV

Birmingham residents react to a wave of night-time venue closures across the city. With rising costs and minimal support, many fear the late-night economy is in decline. We asked locals how the closures are affecting them, whether leaders are doing enough, and what they think needs to change.

Transcript

00:00I'm in the city centre where empty windows and early closures are starting to stand out.

00:06Venues that brought life to side streets and back alleys have quietly disappeared,

00:10not because they were unpopular but because they couldn't survive the overheads.

00:14And while the loss might seem subtle at first, it adds up fast.

00:18Fewer late night crowds, quieter streets and a sense that things are just winding down.

00:22I ask people if they've noticed a shift in the city and whether things feel different now that so many venues have gone.

00:30Nighttime economy disappeared from Birmingham a long time ago.

00:34It's definitely not the same as it was back in the 90s.

00:36That was mostly in clubbing and that was the emergence of dance music in terms of where it really sort of hit the commercial streets.

00:43Now it's mostly bars, but otherwise it's not really there.

00:48Other cities do it better than Birmingham, unfortunately, but we were still one or two hotspots that are good to go to.

00:53I guess it is going to have an impact on the city.

00:57And I think you end up with, the chain survived, didn't they?

01:01And I think it loses a bit of the charm of it.

01:05I think the independent places are always better, in my view.

01:08I think it's the same in most cities these days, that places are closing.

01:12You see, especially live music venues, I think those are closing a lot.

01:16So yes, I think Birmingham has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

01:19And it's a shame to see places closing down, to see horrible empty corner places.

01:25So yeah, it is a shame.

01:27So yeah, things are just changing, shops as well, not just music venues.

01:31But I think that's a nationwide thing, not just a Birmingham thing.

01:35So yes, I have noticed that there aren't as many options and things for evening entertainment.

01:41But as I'm a little bit older now, I don't tend to want to go to those places anyway.

01:44I'm quite happy for daytime drinking.

01:47I think things just seem to be more encouraged now.

01:50The daytime drinking, the brunches, that type of thing.

01:52More so than the club nights, I feel, yeah.

01:55A lot of people saw this coming and what bothers them most is how little has been done to stop it.

02:02You hear the same things, the business rates are too high, licensing is a maze and support just isn't there.

02:08Closures keep happening and official responses feel slow, vague or non-existent.

02:12Meanwhile, the people who work in nightlife are left in limbo.

02:15I asked whether people think those in charge are taking any of this seriously or just letting it run its course.

02:22I think they're just leaving it to do their own thing.

02:24and migrate to wherever they migrate to.

02:27I think places are closing, but places open as well.

02:30So I think it just moves around.

02:33I haven't seen much locally, but I'm sure people are, well, I hope people are making an effort to do that kind of stuff.

02:38But I think nationally, I think anything that feels like anything that isn't saving loads of money or something like that,

02:50I think anything that isn't viewed as an immediate benefit, he's just getting cut at the moment.

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