Glasgow council and Warner Bros should ‘listen’ to businesses ‘decimated’ by Batgirl filming, says Finance Secretary

MSP Pauline McNeill asked the Scottish Government what financial support it gives to Glasgow businesses that have been affected by the loss of earnings as a result of street closures due to a variety of recent projects.

Ms Forbes said that the issue was one for the council consider, as “they provide the licences for such projects”.

Batgirl problems

Ms McNeill said roads had been closed in the city centre because of filming of the new Batgirl movie and spoke about the impact the production had had on local businesses.

She said: “The filming is said to have decimated trade for many businesses who struggled after lockdown and quite severe restrictions after Christmas.

“The owner of a bar and restaurant said they had lost up to £10k worth of business, and another one, a clothing shop, closed for a week due to the low footfall due to the road closures. They were offered £30 a day from Warner Bros.

“Does the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that it is wrong to offer financial incentives to production companies without making adequate compensation conditional on ensuring that businesses are adequately compensated for losses in trade?”

Ms Forbes responded: “I’m very conscious that Glasgow City Council have made comment on this. I would expect both the council and the production companies to listen carefully to businesses, to engage with them and to determine what more can be done support them.”

She said that the businesses affected could receive support from the Covid Recovery Fund and the Glasgow City Centre Recovery Fund.