Unfortunately it looks like they’re having to do it all over again as it seems the developer has managed to persuade London Mayor Boris Johnson to ‘call in’ the application and therefore overturn the democratic decision of the planning committee.
As well as a blow to the clubbing scene in London, the loss of Ministry of Sound would also mean the loss of jobs for the hundreds who work at the club. In recent years the capital has already lost a few of it’s other best known venues, including Turnmills, The End (though it did end up opening again after a few months as The Den) and the cluster of venues in Kings Cross which included The Cross, Canvas and The Key.
Ministry of Sound CEO Lohan Presencer, commented: “If Boris overturns the democratic decision of Southwark Council he signs the death warrant for Ministry of Sound. It’s as simple as that. If he does, he alienates our tens of thousands of supporters in the process. Does Boris really want to lose that many votes in an election year?”
Ministry regular DJ Judge Jules, added: “The Mayor should be celebrating Ministry of Sound as one of London’s greatest global success stories, not kicking the club and its millions of fans in the teeth. Do the right thing Boris – please don’t stop the music.”
The Ministry of Sound began in 1991 in a converted bus garage in south London's Elephant & Castle. Inspired by clubs like the Paradise Garage in New York, it was the first ‘real dance club’ in the UK and started off a whole new generation of clubbers. Over the past 20 years pretty much everyone who matters in Dance Music has performed at the venue and is quite possibly the best known club in the world.
There’s only 46 days until the critical planning hearing at London’s City Hall. So if you haven’t already, show your support for the club by:
signing the petition at: http://www.ministryofsound.com/saveourclub
There are other ways you can help too, like emailing Boris directly, all details on that link
