Here’s how you can save the iconic East End venue
On Sat 27th July 2024, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club hosted a send-off – for the venue itself. Earlier that month, it had been announced via BGWMC’s Instagram that the owner of the building was planning to sell, so the team was preparing for a “possibly permanent holiday”. But Equity, the trade union for drag and cabaret performers, quickly started working to save the venue.
Following a successful petition and rally, BGWMC was saved from eviction and designated an ‘Asset of Community Value’ by Tower Hamlets Council, giving the local community the ‘Right to Bid’ should the building go up for sale. At the beginning of this year, Equity and Friends of BGWMC received a ‘Certificate of Lawfulness’, acknowledging the venue’s use as a cabaret theatre, bar and nightclub.
However this is not enough to save the space from developers, so a crowdfunding campaign has been launched by Friends of BGWMC to raise £12,000 to pay for a planning bid to persuade Tower Hamlets Council to either purchase the club and lease it back to FoBGWMC, or to allow FoBGWMC to purchase the club themselves.
The group is looking to raise the funds by 8th April to pay for a full chartered survey, valuation of the building and planning application, with an extended target of £18,000 to cover business plan developments, consultancy and accounting costs.
Speaking about the campaign, Equity’s Variety Organiser, Nick Keegan, says, “A community purchase on this scale will be no small task. We are trying to be absolutely realistic about this. We believe a partnership between the community of BGWMC and Tower Hamlets Council does have the ability to achieve this. We believe it is essential to save this unique cultural facility and give it a chance to continue serving the local community of Tower Hamlets, the LGBTQ+ community, and the wider cultural tapestry of London for future generations.
We are determined to build that case, and make sure that the cultural and societal value of BGWMC is clear for all to see.
BGWMC is a crucial and irreplaceable fixture of London’s cultural heritage. It has been a catalyst for the development of new artists and cultural workers in the city, a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and it is a building with more than 100 years of history as a community owned space. It is vital that we protect BGWMC for future generations and allow its legacy to live on. “
As one of London’s dwindling queer spaces – and one that regularly provides employment for performers in the drag and cabaret sector – BGWMC is a truly valuable part of the community, so if you’re not ready to see Bethnal Green without its Working Men’s Club, you can donate to the crowdfunder below.
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