Covid: Hull nightclub Spiders to stay closed after restrictions ease
BBCHull's premier alternative nightclub has said it would be "irresponsible and uncaring" to reopen once lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
Spiders has been shut since before the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Bosses announced the club would remain closed, saying "health considerations must come first", with many revellers supporting the decision.
The Night Time Industries Association said the government's decision to allow clubs to reopen was "the correct one".
From 19 July, most coronavirus restrictions in England will be lifted, and nightclubs will be allowed to open their doors once again.
Managers of the well-known Cleveland Street venue said it would only open "with the minimal health risk to our staff, customers and their relatives" based on the assurances of scientists and medical professionals.
"We have always appreciated that there will always be some health risks and that Covid is not going away but opening the club now, with cases rising dramatically once more, now is certainly not the right time to open the club," they said.
On its Facebook page, Spiders posted: "The answer is NO! Spiders will not be opening on Saturday 24 July 2021.
"It would be irresponsible and uncaring to do so. Health considerations must come first. Not to mention being viable.
"We will open the club again when it is scientifically agreed that the time is right to open safely."
The venue chose to close its doors last March before the first England-wide lockdown was announced, and has remained shut since.
Dozens of supportive messages have been left underneath the club's most recent post, with one saying: "We miss you but totally respect and understand this decision."
While another added: "Respect for having the caring approach that you do, guys, and cannot wait for the safe return."
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On Monday, the government confirmed most Covid guidance and legal restrictions in England would be lifted on 19 July.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was vital to proceed with "caution", warning: "This pandemic is not over."
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: "There are some important hurdles ahead for our sector, including changes to the isolation rules which have the potential to throw the recovery off course, but for those businesses that have made it this far in the pandemic I feel confident that the sense of community and togetherness the sector has shown to this point will help us overcome these challenges."
Spiders has been a fixture on the city's music scene since it opened in 1979, hailing itself as "Hull's original indie-vidual nightclub".
It is become widely known for serving off-the-wall cocktails in pint glasses and its casual dress code.
In 2017, a book was published featuring photographs of clubbers taken in the 1980s.
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