Frome's biggest music and events venue, the Cheese & Grain is still planning on re-opening in October, in spite of the easing of restrictions for venues.

Yesterday (August 13) the government announced that indoor theatre, music and performance venues will be able to reopen from tomorrow, with socially distanced audiences.

Other changes include:

- Wedding receptions for up to 30 guests will be permitted

- Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks and soft play centres will be allowed to reopen

- Some beauty services such as facials, eyebrow threading, and eyelash treatments can resume.

But the Cheese & Grain management told Nub News that nothing was changing for them and they were still hoping to open in October.

The issue, according to their latest statement, is that they need to have a full venue to make their income.

On their web site they state:

The Frome Cheese & Grain relies on income from well attended live-music events and a busy event bar. Almost all its other activities, events and uses, including markets, are subsidised by this income. The Chair of the Cheese & Grain Board of Trustees, Pepita Collins, said previously "the situation is under constant review, but it is likely that we will not be able to open until the live-music events are both allowed by law and are financially viable".

In their August statement they said:

The Government has decided to put off the releasing of guidance for the reopening of venues, under safe-social-distancing measures, until at least mid-August. Given the uncertainty and time needed to prepare, the Cheese & Grain has decided that the venue will now remain closed for the duration of September.

We are hopeful that we will be able to reopen a number of our services, including limited capacity socially-distanced shows and our cafe and bar, from October.

The majority of the venue's staff remain furloughed. However, a small team is currently working on updating and refunding affected customers and they will be reaching out to customers in the next week or so with an update on the rescheduling of September's events.

Please support the Cheese and Grain by hanging onto your tickets and coming along and enjoying the gigs on the rescheduled dates. We look forward to seeing you then.

The Cheese & Grain would like to thank you for your incredible patience and the support you have shown the venue during this incredibly difficult time.