THE owner of a Whitchurch music venue says he fears for the future of his business because of the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

Mark Steptoe runs Percy's Cafe and Bar in the Bullring and has been closed since March, but as a music venue he has been unable to reopen like other town centre pubs and bars.

The government gave pubs permission to reopen on July 4 with various restrictions, but this did not apply to music venues, with industry leaders warning that many of them may be forced close their doors.

More than 350 bands had been booked for this year, including more than 40 from overseas, but this have all been cancelled, further exacerbating the venue's financial woes, although the venue has been operating as a base for Mark's other business as an antiques dealer.

"We are now one of the most iconic and sought after venues in the world to play in," said Mark. "We have premier social media reviews and have worked tirelessly to create this for ourselves, bands and Whitchurch town.

“But we are unable to open for the unforeseeable future, we opened only on Fridays and Saturdays for live music and have a capacity of 110," said Mark.

"We will be unable to survive this storm for too much longer. Bands and musicians have already raised £125 by streaming live shows for our benefit, but that may not be enough.

"Our staff are furloughed but their future is also on a knife edge.

“Bands and customers from the four corners of the world stay in accommodation, use shops, takeaways, bars and restaurants in Whitchurch, which is a small town on the worldwide music map because of us. We will need support soon”

On Monday, July 6 the government announced a support package of £1.57 billion for 'cultural venues' and Mark is hopeful the move will help secure the future of venues like his.

"This is a fantastic announcement," he added.

"I hope they give maximum assistance to smaller venues, but without further detail who knows how it will be split.

"It sounds a lot but there are big theatres and venues losing even more money."