MOTH Club saved from development plans after two years of uncertainty
The East London venue thanked the 35,000 people who signed a petition to protect the space Continue reading...
Long-standing East London venue MOTH Club has been saved from development plans that have put it under threat of closure for the last two years.
The Hackney music venue, which first opened in 1972, announced over the weekend (October 30) that it had received the news "we’ve all been waiting for", confirming that it will remain operating as usual.
In 2024, two planning applications were made for developments close to MOTH Club on Valette Street, which the venue said would have "devastating consequences for its future". A campaign was launched to prevent its closure , which saw some 27,000 people email local councillors to protest the plans.
In March this year, a development proposal consisting of six flats and a ground floor commercial space directly next to MOTH Club was rejected by local councillors.
MOTH Club says that the second planning application "has been refused now too," thanking everyone who "helped us with the case, got the word out and kept coming along to support grassroots music".
"Back in March, we said we weren’t out of the woods yet," they said. "Thank you to Hackney Council and the planning department. We really appreciate the due diligence on this."
The venue also thanked the Mayor of Hackney, Green Party politician Zoë Garbett, and her team for "coming down to the venue and backing grassroots music in Hackney," right up until the pivotal stages.
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They also thanked the 35,000 people who signed a petition to protect the space, and nightlife organisations including Hackney Nights, Save Our Scene, the NTIA, and the Music Venue Trust.
"We also said that if this one was refused, we were envisaging the greatest party MOTH has ever witnessed," they added. "We meant it. Watch this space."
"Remember, this was never just about MOTH Club. It’s about every space like ours, in every town and city on the planet. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere."
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