Ministry of Sound vs Housing Developers

Ikoda

Ikoda

Well-Known Member
MoS, over the years, has given me some of the best nights of my life.
It's given me the likes of Trance names I'd never seen before, and, along with Turnmills, got me in to the music I love today. Sadly, the club is being threatened by a developer wanting to create apartments opposite the club.

On September 6th 2011 our local borough council will effectively decide on the fate of the Ministry of Sound club's future, if they agree plans to develop a residential block directly across the road from the venue. We need your signature to help fight council plans to close our club.

Ministry of Sound is not just a nightclub. Millions of people have passed through our doors over the 20 years we have been open. 300,000 people visit us annually, bringing trade to Elephant & Castle and the surrounding area. We have always strived to create the moments that people live for, and we will continue to do so. We are the people that come here, the people that work here, the music that is played here and the lifelong bonds that are made here. If we lose Ministry of Sound, we are losing a vital piece of youth culture in this country. Nightclubs may have existed before Ministry of Sound, but they were never the same afterwards.

If you are a fan of Ministry of Sound, be that of our club, our record label, our compilations or our international tours, then we need you now more than ever.

Please sign our petition if you oppose Oakmayne's planning application.
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http://www.ministryofsound.com/saveourclub

For anyone who has been to the club, who wants to go to the club, who has had good nights there, or has enjoyed anything associated with the MoS brand, please sign this e-petition.
 
I have many great memories of nights in MoS. I'd hate to see it close.
Where would The Gallery go?
 
That's an old photo of the bar.

Interesting read. Not that surprised they are going for a lawyer approach to be honest. I think they'd struggle to find another site now.
 
Has anyone found out what today's decision was?

I'd be absolutely gutted, with a capital 'G', if they effectively closed Ministry down. I still go regularly and it is my favourite club in England. The sound system in the Box is as good as any I've heard anywhere.

It defies logic that this scenario has even occured. And it's quite ironic that these flats are for a "regeneration project", well, if you force MOS to close then that's made any regeneration of Southwark 1,000 times harder. Idiots.:x
 
Electronic_Liberalism said:
if you force MOS to close then that's made any regeneration of Southwark 1,000 times harder. Idiots.:x
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Not true...this is London - Elephant is in dire need of a makeover and people always need flats in zone one - especially ones for high flying execs short of money to live in sw@nksville. Clubs and graffitti artists are only the start of the regeneration process. As soon as the area gets kudos, it's all about the luxury flats.

The Ministry does nothing for the area but create noise and give students something to do. It's a sad indictment of the culture we love - nightclubs are really hard to monetise. Ministry make more money from album sales than it could ever hope to make from that former bus garage - it's lucky to have survived for as long as it has tbh. Studio 54 only lasted a decade after all.

...and yeah that system is a belter. 8)

Will be heading over for Frankie Knuckles on Sun - with work the next day. :lol: (cos I'm hardcore. :p)
 
Robder said:
Not true...this is London - Elephant is in dire need of a makeover and people always need flats in zone one - especially ones for high flying execs short of money to live in sw@nksville. Clubs and graffitti artists are only the start of the regeneration process. As soon as the area gets kudos, it's all about the luxury flats.

The Ministry does nothing for the area but create noise and give students something to do. It's a sad indictment of the culture we love - nightclubs are really hard to monetise. Ministry make more money from album sales than it could ever hope to make from that former bus garage - it's lucky to have survived for as long as it has tbh. Studio 54 only lasted a decade after all.

...and yeah that system is a belter. 8)

Will be heading over for Frankie Knuckles on Sun - with work the next day. :lol: (cos I'm hardcore. :p)
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I accept that housing development is needed and that regeneration is definitely a priority in that area but, for me, putting one of England's best, most profitable and most iconic nightclubs at risk as a result is simply moronic.

The Ministry makes tens of millions of pounds in revenue as well as providing jobs on-site and helping to promote the area and boost other local businesses. For example, I would never even think about stepping foot in Southwark if it wasn't for MOS. To say it "does nothing for the area" but create noise is plain wrong.

If you get rid of this club by making its future untenable then you are losing jobs, you are losing tourism and you are losing an iconic brand which most London boroughs would snap off their right testicle to have.
 
Electronic_Liberalism said:
I accept that housing development is needed and that regeneration is definitely a priority in that area but, for me, putting one of England's best, most profitable and most iconic nightclubs at risk as a result is simply moronic.

The Ministry makes tens of millions of pounds in revenue as well as providing jobs on-site and helping to promote the area and boost other local businesses. For example, I would never even think about stepping foot in Southwark if it wasn't for MOS. To say it "does nothing for the area" but create noise is plain wrong.

If you get rid of this club by making its future untenable then you are losing jobs, you are losing tourism and you are losing an iconic brand which most London boroughs would snap off their right testicle to have.
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But there are no bars in the area except a crappy Wetherspoons. Which local businesses are being boosted exactly?

Most London boroughs wouldn't...Hackney council would close it in seconds, Westminster - lets not even go there, Farringdon - too much competition to make it viable in the post superclub era, Greenwich - see Matter.

I could go on...

Fact is, no one cares about an iconic youth brand when £££ from property developers are involved.
 
Robder said:
But there are no bars in the area except a crappy Wetherspoons. Which local businesses are being boosted exactly?

Most London boroughs wouldn't...Hackney council would close it in seconds, Westminster - lets not even go there, Farringdon - too much competition to make it viable in the post superclub era, Greenwich - see Matter.

I could go on...

Fact is, no one cares about an iconic youth brand when £££ from property developers are involved.
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There are lots of bars nearby? The Rockingham Arms, The Elephant & Castle, the Thai Bar, plus lots of other pubs and bars either side of MoS which I have been to before. Then there are the newsagents/off licences which are good for a snack before you go in. The "fact is" that the Ministry of Sound brings more to that local economy then any other business or brand - doing away with it will lead to a massive loss in Southwark's already low revenue stream.

I agree that 50-year-old council members may not care about an iconic Global music brand, but over 23,000 others in the know, do. And it's those people they should listen to. Far more will be lost by jeopodising this club than rejecting a block of 22 flats, Ministry has taken 20 years of hard work to get where it is today.
 
My point exactly.

These are all TERRIBLE pubs with a catch all policy. Nothing clubby about any of them.

Thousands of ravers buying chewing gum and water aren't going to regenerate Southwark. Anyone who has been through Elephant on a train to get a birds eye view of all the housing blocks can see that (it looks worse than bloody Detroit :lol:).

The MoS is a MAHOOSIVE national brand - not a local one. The tate modern this ain't.

To repeat - I really hope it stays though.
 
Bar layout changed with the refurb last year (it's called 103 now). The chopped off part of the bar and put the DJ Booth in the corner. Its far better for it.

It's an icon, of the past and present. It could move, but I don't know where it would go too.

Matter is a poor choice, the venue would of done much better if the transport links didn't spent half of the year closed... or it had a dedicated, express bus route in to central London.
I've never had a bad night at Matter. Oakenfold was awesome, as was the X-Press2 night I went to.
 
Just have one massive closing party weekend with all the big names playing all night (mainly danny t) and be done with it.

The end closing party has become the stuff of legends and so could the mos closing party.
 
Robo said:
The end closing party has become the stuff of legends and so could the mos closing party.
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Missed The End closing party & am still gutted to this day ... it was my favourite club in London by a mile.
 
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