Campaign launched to save London venue The George Tavern

A campaign has been launched to save a historic London venue.

The George Tavern is under threat of closure and a campaign to help the venue to survive has been shared on social media.

Earlier today (January 26), the Music Venue Trust (MVT), which supports grassroots venues throughout the UK, asked the public for help in saving the venue. The venue is at risk of closure as a result of an upcoming planning application.

The MVT wrote on Facebook: “The future of The George is under threat again by the redevelopment of the Exmouth Estate that sits behind the venue.

“The developers have worked around taking vital noise surveys, meaning the current proposal submitted leaves The George open to noise complaints from new residents. This could result in the loss of The George Tavern’s music license and eventually closure of the venue.”

The MVT also tweeted: “@GeorgeTavernE1 in #EastLondon Needs Your Help! We are asking you to please support their campaign: Please write to Tower Hamlets council objecting to the current planning application, reference: PA/21/02309/A1.

“A threat against one venue is emblematic of the potential threat to all venues”

You can see the posts here:

The George Tavern in East London Needs Your Help! – Music Venue Trust is asking you to support The George Tavern's…

Posted by Music Venue Trust on Wednesday, January 26, 2022

It comes after Manchester’s historic Night and Day appealed for support last year after being threatened by noise complaints last year.

The legendary music spot, which was saved after a hard-fought battle against a noise complaint back in 2014 and who celebrated its 30th-anniversary last year, took to social media to rally support after receiving a notice from the council to reportedly claim they were “a noise nuisance”.

“Since lockdown and as restrictions have been lifted, we have gradually returned back to what we do – being a small independent live music venue,” they wrote on a petition calling for help and signatures. “Over the past few months, we’ve been really encouraged by having live music events on six nights a week – back to what it was pre-COVID.

“During lockdown, a new resident moved to Manchester and to a property that’s within close proximity to the venue. As the restrictions lifted and life returned to the surrounding Northern Quarter area, we were able to put on our first live music event. The resident visited us the next day and has since reported us to MCC a number of times. We have met the resident a number of times to explain what we do and that nothing has changed operationally to how we operated pre-lock down and the 28 years prior to that.

The venue added that they were pleading with Manchester City Council Licensing to “remove our Noise Abatement Notice and for the Council to address the real issue here which is that housing with ill-considered planning and construction has been approved and built next to a pre-existing live music business”.

The petition received nearly tens of thousands of signatures and support from the likes of Johnny Marr, New Order, Courteeners, Frank Turner and Mogwai, as well as the network of the UK’s grassroots music venues. The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess, who was instrumental in saving Manchester’s Gorilla and Deaf Institute through the pandemic, told NME why it was essential to fight back against this complaint.

“Music venues are essential for our nighttime economy and for the development of artists who will then tour the world and sell millions of records – they are vital for our towns and cities,” Burgess told NME. “Years and even decades after they opened, people are moving nearby and complaining about the noise. We need to get a grip of this daft situation. And it’s not just music venues – record shops are facing the same issue.

“The joke being that these city-centre residents are often the ones showing off to their friends about the culture that surrounds them. We need to support our live music venues, not threaten them with closure.”

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