Plans to save UK’s most iconic grassroots music venues from closure revealed

A new ‘National Trust’ for grassroots music venues is being launched today to try and protect seven venues from closing.

Music Venue Properties has announced the ‘Our Own Venues’ project, which will put venues under community ownership to save them for future generations.

It comes as live music has dwindled across London and the rest of the UK – with many beloved places unable to compete with developers snapping up properties.

Esquires in Bedford, The Sugarmill in Stoke-on-Trent and The Joiners in Southampton, alongside The Croft in Bristol, Peggy’s Skylight in Nottingham, The Lubber Fiend in Newcastle and The Pipeline in Brighton, are all set to be offered to join the scheme.

Gareth Barber, owner of Esquires, told Metro: ‘Our place has been open for 35 years, and we have seen the likes of Muse and Coldplay play with us.

‘But our landlord is retiring at the end of our lease and selling, and we know we won’t be able to compete with developers.’

It is the only grassroots music venue in Bedford, and holds multiple events across different genres of music.

If it were to close, the community would lose ‘one of the mainstays’ of the area.

Gareth said: ‘It would leave a massive hole for some people. It’s more than just a music venue, and we wouldn’t still be here without all the community support.’

Many venues have faced extensive challenges in recent years, following the Covid pandemic and the of cost-of-living crisis.

In 2024, around a quarter of the 810 grassroots venues supported by the Music Venue Trust across the UK had to ask for help from the organisation’s Emergency Response Service to avoid permanent closure.

Now,just 179 grassroots venues remain in London.

Music Venue Properties launched a similar campaign in 2023, and raised £2.88 million to save he Snug in Atherton, The Ferret in Preston, Le Pub in Newport, The Bunkhouse in Swansea and The Booking Hall in Dover.

As well as ensuring suitable leases, the project also includes contributing to maintenance costs and sustainable rent.

Ricky Bates, Venue Operator of The Joiners, Southampton said: ‘This is one of the only real solutions to securing one of the most important live music venues in the UK.

‘For almost 60 years The Joiners has been a vital part of the UK touring circuit and a creative cornerstone of Southampton, but today its future is uncertain.

‘Our lease expires this year, our landlord is retiring and, while the venue is rich in history, the building is over 200 years old and in need of care.

‘In today’s economy, it simply isn’t viable for us as individuals to purchase the property but, with the support of the Own Our Venues campaign and the wider music community, we can secure The Joiners for the next 60 years and beyond.’

Metro has joined forces with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and top music industry figures to put the capital’s grassroots music scene centre stage.

A new interpretation of London’s Tube map show stations replaces with the names of artists and locations that form part of the capital’s music heritage.

That includes new stars like Loyle Carner, Arlo Parks and SAULT filling in the stops on the Piccadilly line, and legends like Billy Bragg, Adele and Madness on the Northern line.

Matthew Otridge, Chief Operating Officer of MVP said: ‘The key threat to the grassroots music venue (GMV) sector has always been that of property ownership.

‘More than 90% of GMVs are tenants and are often in a vulnerable position when they and their landlords do not share the same goals.

‘It’s a bleak statistic but 35% of venues have closed in the last 20 years and in 2024 another 86 either closed or no longer operated as GMVs.

‘We are standing at a crossroads but there is a solution, and people can help us to put in place real, sustainable solutions.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.