London’s legendary Moth Club still needs you to stop it being knocked down for flats
London’s legendary MOTH Club has thanked fans for support after planning proposals threatened the venues future, but has asked them once to “keep the pressure on”.
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The Hackney venue has played host to countless live gigs, as well as comedy shows, film events and club nights since the ’70s, and has become a beloved fixture of London’s music scene. Last year, however, the owners shared that the site was put in jeopardy, with prospective plans for new developments posing “a serious threat” to the club.
Last September, owners took to social media and called on local residents and fans to reach out to the borough’s planning department to contest a proposal for a new block of flats. They were later hit with two separate planning applications for flats on Morning Road, next to MOTH Club, which were submitted to Hackney Council.
At the time, the venue claimed that the proposal was “deliberately split into two applications to avoid the obligation to include social housing”, and, if the applications were to be be approved, would lead to “conflicts, noise complaints, and a serious threat to the venue’s ability to operate”.
At the time of writing, the petition to oppose the planning applications has received more than 19,000 signatures, with owners urging people in post shared Monday (7 July) to “keep the pressure on, sign and share the petition and write to the council”. Visit here to find out more and to sign the petition.
They also shared some 3D images of the proposed developments alongside the post, showing flats built up in close proximity to the venue.
The Music Venue Trust echoed their calls for continued support, writing: “Property ownership underlies almost every other challenge that grassroots music venues have faced over the last few decades.”
“We’re calling for AGENT OF CHANGE to have better relationships between developers, councils, and venues. We don’t believe that new developments should challenge the future of our remaining music venue spaces,” they added.
Mentioning the thousands who singed the petition, the statement continued: “Despite this overwhelming public response, Hackney Council has yet to respond to the venue’s concerns raised about the two separate planning proposals threatening MOTH Club’s future.”
The MOTH Club has supported countless emerging artists since opening in 1972, and hosted performances from the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, IDLES, Jarvis Cocker, Lady Gaga, Caroline Polachek, Sprints, Wunderhorse, Amyl and the Sniffers and more. It has also become a hub for comedy, film nights and club events under LNZRT’s programming.
Upon the venue’s first call for support in September, a spokesperson for the Music Venue Trust (MVT) shared a statement with NME about the situation, and explained how they are looking to help protect the Hackney live music space.
“The developers have placed an application which neglects to even consider the noise impact of the MOTH Club, with a noise report which doesn’t mention or survey the GMV. So we will be opposing its suitability in the strongest possible terms, it’s plainly against the Agent of Change planning principle and would put the Moth Club at risk of future noise complaints and threat of closure,” the statement read.
“We’re really pleased to see the enormity of the public reaction, and how many people agree with us that the Moth Club must be protected.”
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Poppy Burton
NME
