Underbelly blasts 'not true' claims around poor communication which led to New Town bar shutting for Hogmanay

The events company was responding to a post on social media from Hoot the Redeemer on Hanover Street.

Hoot the Redeemer said it was forced to shut due to the Hogmanay street party (Photo: Google/TSPL)

Underbelly have slammed "not true" claims by an Edinburgh bar that it was forced to close on Hogmanay due to access issues around the street party.

Hoot the Redeemer, a basement bar in Hanover Street, said on social media that it had been forced to close for New Year's Eve due to access being blocked by barricades for the street party.

The business also blamed "very little co-operation or communication" from event organisers Underbelly for their predicament.

However Underbelly categorically denied the claims, stating that they made "special efforts" to contact the bar and said they "did not engage with us".

'Let down on the day'

In the post on social media, Hoot the Redeemer announced the closure of their bar on December 31, blaming the Hogmanay street party.

They said: "Unfortunately we will not be open this evening for our usual Hogmanay celebrations.

"Once again, access to our bar has been blocked by the Street Party barricades with very little cooperation or communication from Underbelly.

"After previous years of being made assurances - then being let down on the day, we’ve made the decision to remain closed tonight."

They added that they would open the bar on New Year's Day for a party after the removal of the barriers.

'Simply not true'

These claims were denied by an Underbelly spokesman who said multiple emails were sent and several phone calls made to try and work with the bar.

Hitting back at the claims, the spokesman said: "That is simply not true. We made special efforts to communicate with Hoot the Redeemer in good time ahead of the event starting back in October.

"We have a number of emails that were sent, we called several times and followed up in person to ensure that the staff had seen our attempts to contact them.

"We do understand that the event brings challenges as well as opportunities for the businesses within the arena and we worked hard to try and work with Hoot the Redeemer but unfortunately they did not engage with us.

"I am sure they have many disappointed customers and hope that together we can support them to be open in future years.”

Hoot the Redeemer was contacted for comment.