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The 10th annual Maidstone Fringe Festival has been cancelled and the organiser has raised concerns about the survival of small, creative businesses.
The popular event, set to welcome around 100 bands, solo artists, DJs and poets to pubs and venues across Maidstone, was due to take place between Wednesday, April 29 and Sunday, May 3.
But with the lockdown enforced until at least Thursday, May 7, organiser Clive Austen had no choice but to call it off.
Mr Austen, who also runs Make Some Noise music studio, says some solo acts may live stream shows on Facebook instead.
The 49-year-old added it would be difficult to reschedule the whole event as it is still unclear when venues will be able to re-open and whether they will be able to continue when they do.
Some of the "bigger acts" will keep their deposits and may possibly be re-booked as stand alone gigs but the majority of acts would normally be paid by the venues, which won't be possible due to the current circumstances.
Mr Austen has spoken to more than 60 of the artists over the phone and said: "The feeling I get is there are a lot of depressed and worried people out there who aren't really getting any assurances or direction to help them."
The Maidstone man has also highlighted how many music-based businesses are "falling through the cracks" of the Government's grant fund for small businesses.
He says many musicians and sound engineers are not eligible for the financial support on offer because a lot of them rent space within larger business premises, meaning they do not directly pay business rates.
One of the criteria for claiming the grant is that you pay business rates to the council, but Mr Austen explained his landlord pays this, and includes the price in his rent.
He said: "I checked with Maidstone Borough Council before I moved in that I didn't need to register separately and they said I didn't have to - that it wasn't possible for two people to both be registered at the same location anyway."
Mr Austen has rented the premises in Granville Road since 2007, while simultaneously putting on live music events across the county.
Despite contacting the council, his local MP Helen Grant and Government helplines, Mr Austin cannot find a way to access this much-needed grant.
As a solution, he has suggested the scheme is amended so it can also be based on the size of a rented unit - information Mr Austen says is already held on gov.uk.
He said: "Businesses can provide clear evidence of their sector of trade by supplying a copy of their business insurance documents and evidence of their rented premises, with the last three invoices from their landlord stating that business rates and utilities costs are included in their rent.
"In this way, the Government could very simply and accurately distribute desperately needed funds to leisure and entertainment businesses, particularly in the music sphere who are currently 'slipping through the cracks’ in the system and receiving no help with their on-going business premises overheads."
Mr Austen has considered applying for the self-employed grant, but highlights this does not take into account all the outgoing costs associated with a business - just the profit - which may not be enough to support Make Some Noise through the pandemic.
He said: "It's just absurd. I have no money coming in as I've had to shut my business - I could have had one person in the studio but I asked Kent Police and they advised me not to. But I still have all my outgoing costs - rent, insurance, telephone contracts...."
"Luckily, I have quite an understanding landlord and we are discussing whether he might defer my rent or offer a reduced rate which will help.
"But unfortunately, I think people will go bust before enough help is given."
Mr Austen added how he is having to be "very careful" with his money, but is concerned this week is when most of his direct debits are due to come out. He will need to dip into his overdraft to get him through.
When he called the Government business helpline, it was instead answered by HM Revenue & Customs who were only able to file his queries as a complaint and couldn't offer any advice.
To view updates on any live stream gigs in place of Maidstone Fringe Festival, visit the event Facebook page by clicking here.
