Motion Bristol calls for support or it will ‘close’ next year unless it can ‘remind decision-makers’ of its cultural importance

Motion Bristol is seeking support, following news it could close its doors for good in 2025.

The popular nightclub has been based on Avon Street since 2006, but the owners have now appealed for help following the announcement that its license will expire next July.

Sharing a new statement on Instagram earlier this month, the venue shared an update which read: “It is with a heavy heart that Motion Events Ltd. announces the imminent expiration of our lease for the much-loved property located at 74-78 Avon St, Bristol BS2. 0PX, which will end in July 2025.”

“Despite our sincere request to extend the lease and purchase the property, the current owners refused, leaving us facing immense uncertainty,” he added, also saying he had left the future of the site in a “difficult position”.

In the update, the venue also claimed that the owners had expressed a desire to sell to local developers, although “no planning permission has been granted” by Bristol City Council.

“As we navigate this difficult chapter, we sincerely call on the community to stand with us. Your voices resonate with power; they have the potential to advocate for a future in which Motion continues to thrive and enrich Bristol’s cultural landscape,” he concludes, recalling that without intervention “Motion will close its doors in July 2025.”

The venue has become considered a staple of the city’s nightlife and general manager Daniel Deeks spoke with BBC about the team’s efforts to keep the place open.

“I think it’s a huge loss for Bristol’s identity,” he told the outlet. “We’ve built a huge community around this. These are the people who work there, the people who come to the site. This does a lot for diversity, for people’s well-being and mental health.

He also confirmed that staff had carried out an extensive pre-application process with Bristol City Council, which consisted of plans to maximize value for the owner.

According to BBCtheir plan aimed to “retain the ground floor for its current use, while adding affordable creative spaces above.” He also said the plan had been received positively and the council recognized the importance of retaining the nightclub.

There are plans to launch a new offering for the site, although the owners are prepared to cease operations in July. As things stand, they will have to vacate the property by July 31, 2025.

“We’re going to plan to go out in style, if that’s the case,” Mr. Deeks said. You can also read his full statement regarding the threatened closure here.

Motion Bristol is far from the only UK nightclub set to close its doors in 2024. In fact, last month new findings from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) revealed that UK nightclubs could be “extinct”. » by the end of the decade.

Figures reveal that 37 percent of all clubs in the country have closed their doors permanently since March 2020, an average of three clubs per week and 150 per year. If the trend continues, all spaces in the UK will have closed by December 31, 2029.

Over the summer, the NTIA also reported that of the 480 nightclubs closed between June 2020 and June 2024, 67 occurred between December 2023 and June 2024.

There was a 41 percent loss in the central region – with the East being the worst hit, with a 39 percent decrease in the number of theaters. Lancashire saw a 42% drop, Scotland 34% and Yorkshire was among those to suffer the most – falling from 132 sites to 73 (45% drop).

Prior to this, the association revealed that 31% of nightclubs in the UK were forced to close their doors last year, and in August 2023, the association announced that more than 100 independent nightclubs across the UK Uni were forced to close their doors permanently in just 12 months.

The problem also extends beyond clubs, as in January findings from the Music Venue Trust (MVT) revealed a “disaster” that hit all popular music venues throughout the year 2023.

Among the key findings from their ‘toughest year’, it was reported that last year 125 music venues in the UK abandoned live music and more than half of them closed their venues completely. doors. Some of the most pressing constraints were flagged as soaring energy prices, increased tariffs by landlords, supply costs, business rates, licensing issues, noise complaints and continuing shock waves from COVID-19.

At the beginning of this month, NME reported how the touring circuit across the UK’s popular music scene would face “complete collapse” without urgent help, and revealed ways music lovers can get involved to protect local spaces.

Artists also got involved and a £1 tax on tickets for concerts at arena level and above was proposed as a potential solution to the crisis. The idea was part of MVT’s recent “Manifesto for Grassroots Music” released just before the election, and Enter Shikari, Sam Fender, Alien Ant Farm and Katy Perry have all voluntarily introduced the tax into their shows. Additionally, Coldplay has pledged to donate 10% of all profits from its UK stadium shows from 2025 to save independent venues.

Just days ago, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee welcomed the UK Government’s new support for a concert tax at arena level and beyond to help save the popular music scene. Nonetheless, pressure is mounting for a clear deadline to be set for the industry to take urgent action.

Other popular spaces under threat in just recent days include The Moon in Cardiff – which has announced it will close with immediate effect – and Boom in Leeds, which will close in March 2025.