London has lost over 35% of it’s grassroots music venues since 2007, with the number of venues programming new artists dropping from 136 to 88 as of 2015. Noisey likens this loss to The Portrait of Dorian Gray, “a particular area code becomes more desirable, while the people and venues that helped establish it in the first place pay the price.”.
The main problem with all this regeneration and gentrification is that properties are developed into residential properties, where the new residents then complain about the noise and existence of the music venues. The long-standing Bussey Building in Peckham recently came under threat due to, of course, the building of luxury flats.
But, hope is here! After a meeting with Ministers at the Department for Communities and Local Government, alongside Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey MP, new government legislation will be put in place to protect music venues in planning law – laws regarding city planning and the building of new residences. From 6 April 2016, local planning authorities will have to consider existing noise impacts on new residents from existing businesses under an amended permitted development right.
On Facebook this morning, the Music Venue Trust explained, “Permitted development rights have been extended in recent years and allow certain developments to take place without the need to go through the full planning system. The new regulations mean developers are now required to seek prior approval on noise impacts before a change of use from an office to residential building can be carried out. In short – you can’t change offices to flats any more if a music venue is nearby, developers will need to work with the local authority and the music venue to ensure that live music is protected.”
The proposals don’t go as far as a full change of law for music venues, which would put the pressure onto developers to mediate potential future conflicts between new developments and long-standing venues, but this move is a breakthrough. The legislation won’t affect developments that have already gone through planning, but it will support new venues.
Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, told Noisey: “Obviously this is a huge victory. We’ve been campaigning around Agent of Change and a serious of other measures required to prevent venue closures for just under 18 months, and we are now starting to see real recognition in UK law of how important these venues are as cultural spaces.
“There’s still a lot more to do to ensure we continue to protect and secure these venues, and the ultimate aim must be to make sure that artists and audiences in the UK have access to the best music venues in the world.”
This is definitely a great step in the right direction.