The team behind popular grassroots London music venue the Moth Club have explained why they are protesting a proposed development next door to their building.
The Hackney venue, which opened in 1972 as a servicemen’s club, has hosted hundreds of artists including Lady Gaga, Rick Astley and Dave Grohl since it began operating as a live music space in 2015.
Back in September, Moth Club’s team called on local residents and fans to protest a proposal for a new block of flats by contacting Hackney Council’s planning department.
In a fresh statement last week, they disclosed that a further two separate proposals filed by Braycote Ltd and Emel Kara have been submitted to Hackney Council, which appear to lay out plans for a second block of flats on Morning Lane with balconies “directly overlooking Moth’s smoking area and back onto the stage wall”.
MailOnline reports that the two proposed developments share the same planning agents, Savills, and architect Stephen Peter Davy Smith Architects (SPDSA).
“Both developments, if approved, put one of London’s most loved independent grassroots venues at serious risk, as well as impacting the identity of the local area,” the Moth Club statement said.
The venue warned that the blocks’ close proximity to Moth Club would “lead to conflicts, noise complaints, and a serious threat to the venue’s ability to operate”.
Speaking to The Independent this week, general manager Edie Kench-Andrews said the initial proposal to build on top of an existing property “wasn’t as big of a problem… we found out about a month later that there was a second [proposal] put in [where they] wanted to build the whole way around, and it would basically almost engulf us as a building.”
“It wouldn’t just be the noise [that could create conflict with the new building’s residents,” she said. “It would be the queue, everyone outside in the smoking area… We’re angry because there’s a genuine fear that this could shut us down.”
The threat posed towards live music venues from housing developments has been ongoing for at least a decade, when a report presented to the then-mayor of London, Boris Johnson, estimated that the number of live music venues in the capital had plummeted from 430 to 245 since 2007.
A common concern is the building of housing blocks next to these venues, which frequently leads to a rise in noise-abatement notices that can cost thousands of pounds to oppose.
Under changes to national planning rules brought about in 2016 through lobbying, developers seeking to build homes near existing live venues must prove they have considered noise during the application process.
Kench-Andrews said that this had not helped to assuage her fears for Moth Club: “You can noise-proof the room as much as you want, but people are going to open their windows at some point, and if your balcony is over our smoking area, you’re going to make a complaint.”
The campaign to prevent the development was based on precedent, she said: “We’ve watched it happen to other venues, here and outside London. We’re scared of becoming just one of those names on a long list of places that have been shut down. And without venues like us, people wouldn’t have 90 per cent of the artists they enjoy listening to.”
In a statement to The Independent, Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, said: “Music Venue Trust will be lodging a formal objection to the planning application which will be based upon the lack of recognition of the existence of the Moth Club in this proposal by this developer.
“Agent Of Change principles should apply with regards to any developments near to a Grassroots Music Venue especially one as iconic and important to London’s music scene as the Moth Club
“The failure of the developer to make any proposal that would mitigate the impact of this development on this venue is a significant oversight and we strongly encourage the local authority to reject this application.”
Hackney Council said it was unable to comment while the planning application was being considered.
SPDSA declined to comment. The Independent has contacted Savills for comment.
Despite the challenges faced by the live music sector, its economic impact on the UK hit a record £6.1bn in 2024, with an annual report from the organisation Live estimating that it also supported jobs for almost 230,000 people.
