Covid-19: Government delayed paying rent for racecourse

Labour MP Lloyd-Russell Moyle revealed the reason behind the delayed opening in a post on Twitter.

The venue, which was supposed to go live on Monday, failed to open its doors because the government "delayed paying the rent bill".

The MP said he had to “intervene” along with Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas to get the rent paid.

Brighton Racecourse is one of four GP-led sites in Brighton and Hove set up to offer Covid-19 vaccines.

The venue was due to open on Monday

The delay comes after the MP confirmed the Pfizer vaccine was being delivered this week but would take days to defrost, forcing the venue to remain closed until the "start of next week".

Writing on Twitter, the Kempton and Peacehaven said: "The government delayed paying the rent bill, Caroline and I had to intervene to get the rent paid and site signed off and this has delayed it by a few days."

According to the MP, Brighton Racecourse is expected to administer around 6,000-7,000 vaccinations a week at full capacity.

READ MORE >> Coronavirus: vaccine arriving at Brighton Racecourse

It is part of a nationwide effort to vaccinate the nation, that includes a target of two million people a week.

People are asked not to contact their GP surgery so practice teams can focus on arranging the vaccinations and provide day to day care for all of their registered patients.

However, the Sussex COVID-19 Vaccination Programme said they were "not aware" of any delays in funding. 

A spokesperson said: “We are not aware of any delays regarding funding for the use of the racecourse as a vaccination site. We are delighted the site has gone live which will enable more people to be vaccinated as soon as possible.”