Crowdfunder saves Winchester’s Railway Inn: “We get to keep doing what we do – but better”

The Railway Inn in Winchester has celebrated reaching its goal on Crowdfunder, saying “we get to keep doing what we do – but better”.

The only grassroots music venue in the Hampshire city, which has been home to local and rising artists for over 40 years, had declared that they were in ”serious trouble” last month, setting a goal of £35,000 and saying they could be forced to shut their doors “for good” if they were not successful.

Frank Turner, a Winchester native, lent his support to the appeal and live music fans soon rallied to the cause. Within a week, that first target was successfully reached. “WE DID IT. THANK YOU.” the venue wrote in an update in early August. “We’re honestly blown away.”

“This means we can finally clear the debt that’s been hanging over us since the COVID years. It means The Railway gets a proper reset. And it means we get to keep doing what we do – but better.”

The Railway is now setting a second “stretch” target of £50,000, which they say will allow them to “bring in a solicitor to help us negotiate our premises licence, so we can run more 16+ shows and open the doors to younger local talent.”

At time of writing, the fundraiser sits on £38,560 and you can find the donation page here.

The Railway stated that the money from the original target will go towards clearing old rent and utility arrears, covering backdated overheads and fixing vital kit. The fact that they have reached the first target now makes them “secure”.

It is a time of crisis for grassroots venues in the UK. In 2023, it was revealed that the UK was set to lose 10 per cent of its grassroots music venues, and MVT report warned that grassroots gig spaces in the UK were “going over a cliff”. That year saw 125 grassroots venues shut down – causing a loss of 4,000 jobs, with 14,500 events no longer possible and 193,230 opportunities lost to musicians.

A recent Music Fans’ Voice survey showed that 93 per cent of fans were fully supportive of a £1 ticket levy being implemented to support the grassroots, and last spring, a government committee of UK MPs joined the call for a levy on arena and stadium gigs – as well as a cut in VAT.

Earlier this week, Keir Starmer spoke to NME about the issue. “I’m very supportive of this initiative, the £1 levy going back into grassroots [venues], because so much of our music is grassroots,” he said.

He acknowledged that smaller, independent establishments are “where a lot of people access their music”, adding: “It’s obviously where a lot of musicians start off, and therefore I’m hugely supportive of it. I’d like to see it expanded even more, but I want to support it in any way we can.”

When asked what more could be done to help, the PM replied: “We need to support venues – large and small – across the country. I’ll be looking at what we can do in order to give them the chance not just to survive, but to thrive. There are so many different types of venues in different places where artists have performed for the first time, and go on to do amazing things.

“But also it’s where young people in particular access their first live gig. It’s likely to be the one nearest where they live – then that gives them an appetite to go to see more and more live music. We need more live music and we need to support it.”

In the spring, it was reported that UK tour ticket contributions had raised £500,000 for grassroots spaces. London’s Royal Albert Hall has since become the first arena to commit to the £1 ticket levy, before Oasis’ huge Live ’25 residency at Manchester’s Heaton Park brought in £250,000 for local venues.

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