Wigan town centre music venue getting ready for reopening

Indiependence, on King Street West, will open on Saturday nights after a lengthy period of having to keep its doors closed due to the regulations around slowing the spread of Covid-19.

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of a four-week delay to the latest stage of easing restrictions means nightclubs will now remain shut until mid-July.

The exact details of the line-ups are still being finalised but venue owner Tony Callaghan says he is confident there is an appetite for going out once more.

He said: “You can have music with the restrictions and we are going to be fully compliant with every rule and regulation possible. We’ve got track and trace, social distancing, hand sanitiser, everything.

“I think people are desperate to get back to some normality, although obviously the virus is still out there and very active. We’ve also been inundated with entertainers wanting to come and play.

“We just want customers to have a great night while behaving themselves and abiding by Covid rules.”

Mr Callaghan said the music will be the typical fare fans of Indiependence have come to expect.

He also said the current position for the hospitality industry is extremely tough.

He said: “A lot of businesses are open and trading but they are haemorrhaging cash.

“There are more staff because everything is table service, there are a lot more costs and you can’t trade at capacity so you haven’t got as much revenue.

"At the end of the day we're a business and we employ a lot of staff. I've got to look at my business and what I can do.

"I think it’s appalling businesses which have been closed for 15 months have not had more support.”

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