Ministry of Sound has won a battle to prevent a 41-storey tower block from being constructed next to its home of 20 years, amid fears that the development could have led to the south London nightclub's closure.
Southwark council's planning committee last night voted by five to nil, with one abstention, against the proposal – which aimed to build 255 flats directly opposite the club in an area where there has been no residential development previously.
Ministry had feared that if the building had gone ahead, it would have prompted complaints about noise and nuisance from the newly arrived residents. That, club bosses believed, would have led to the club losing its licence and so being shut down.
It is not clear if Oakmayne Properties, the Isle of Man based developer, will appeal against the decision. Oakmayne had offered to "triple glaze" the first 20-30 storeys of flats immediately facing the club, and argued that the venue and residents could co-exist.
Ministry of Sound, which also runs one of Britain's two largest independent record labels from the site, has offered to buy the Oakmayne site to provide alternative development. But with relations between the property owner and the club so combative it is not obvious this will lead to a solution.
London nightclubs often have only short-term existences, with changing land use a perennial threat. The Cross in London's King's Cross closed in 2008 ahead of the wider redevelopment of the site behind the station; Turnmills in Clerkenwell, the first UK venue with a 24-hour licence, also closed that year and is due to be turned into so an office block could be built.
by Dan Sabbagh taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/12/ministry-of-sound-planning-battle
Southwark council's planning committee last night voted by five to nil, with one abstention, against the proposal – which aimed to build 255 flats directly opposite the club in an area where there has been no residential development previously.
Ministry had feared that if the building had gone ahead, it would have prompted complaints about noise and nuisance from the newly arrived residents. That, club bosses believed, would have led to the club losing its licence and so being shut down.
It is not clear if Oakmayne Properties, the Isle of Man based developer, will appeal against the decision. Oakmayne had offered to "triple glaze" the first 20-30 storeys of flats immediately facing the club, and argued that the venue and residents could co-exist.
Ministry of Sound, which also runs one of Britain's two largest independent record labels from the site, has offered to buy the Oakmayne site to provide alternative development. But with relations between the property owner and the club so combative it is not obvious this will lead to a solution.
London nightclubs often have only short-term existences, with changing land use a perennial threat. The Cross in London's King's Cross closed in 2008 ahead of the wider redevelopment of the site behind the station; Turnmills in Clerkenwell, the first UK venue with a 24-hour licence, also closed that year and is due to be turned into so an office block could be built.
by Dan Sabbagh taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/12/ministry-of-sound-planning-battle
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