The Ravensbourne Arms needs urgent crowdfunding to secure future as music venue
Campaigners who are seeking £500,000 to turn a shuttered pub into a community-owned live music venue have issued a fresh appeal for help, after learning that a private buyer has put in an offer of £700,000.
The Sister Midnight collective, which has spearheaded a campaign to save The Ravensbourne Arms in Lewisham since last autumn, says it needs to raise a “significant” amount of money in the next fortnight if it’s to compete with the reported leaseholder bid.
Members of the community have the opportunity to hold a stake in what would be a not-for-profit grassroots live music pub in south east London, which has seen support from Porridge Radio, Fontaines D.C., Goat Girl and DJ and London Night Czar Amy Lame.
Jools Holland, who was born in neighbouring Blackheath and spent his formative years in his band Squeeze around the local area, became a shareholder last October.
“The music scene of South East London means a great deal to me,” he said. “It’s where I came from – it’s where I come out of. And that’s why I want to support the Ravensbourne Arms. I invested and you can too. What harm can it do?”
Sister Midnight initially announced an aim to raise £500,000 by taking it out of the hands of potential private landlords and into those of locals and music fans. At the time of writing the crowdfunder campaign has raised £225,580. It’s not clear whether the £500,000 target needs to be increased in order to compete with private offers.
The collective explained in the latest update: “To fund this offer we need to raise a significant amount of money in the next 2 weeks. It’s possible, but we need YOUR help to do it. We need you to make our campaign go VIRAL. Share this post as widely as possible. Tell everyone you know.
“We won’t stop until the fight is over.”
Lenny Watson of Sister Midnight told NME last year that the pandemic-enforced closure of venues proved a “catalyst for realising that we needed to create a new space that was going to be sustainable in the long-term” without the pressure of private rents.
“Our mission is to create a space for live music that can be accessible, affordable and inclusive – and a space that can be more sustainable against the threats that can be posed to venues.
“The pandemic was a big one. People might argue that it’s not the best time to be doing it, but I’d argue that there’s really not a better time to be securing the future of our grassroots music venues against these kinds of threats,” she said.
2022 will see an increase in efforts for gig spaces to be brought into the ownership of trusts, communities and music fans rather than private landlords. The news was spotlighted at the Music Venue Trust’s NME-partnered Venues Day event last June.
“We have to take ownership of our grassroots music venues, it really is as simple as that,” Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd told NME. “We can’t keep fighting endless battles with landlords, developers, local authorities, neighbours from a defensive position which is incredibly weak.”
Head here for more information on how to save The Ravensbourne Arms.
