10,000 letters sent to Lambeth council to ‘Save Brixton Academy’
More than 10,000 letters have been sent to Lambeth council urging it to keep Brixton Academy open after the Met requested they close it down following a fatal crowd crush in December.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) teamed up with the Save Our Scene campaign and the Brixton BID collective of local businesses, to launch the Campaign to Save Brixton Academy.
Since the campaigns launch last Thursday, thousands of letters have been sent to Lambeth council and 100,000 music fans have signed a change.org petition to keep the Brixton Academy open.
Each of these written representations will go towards a licensing review hearing for the venue which will take place at a later date.
The campaign comes following a request from the Met to revoke the licence of the current operators, Academy Music Group.
The Met’s request responded to the crush that took place at the venue, killing two people, on December 15 last year.
A gig by Afrobeats singer Asake was cut short following the crush, and four people were rushed to hospital.
Gaby Hutchinson, 23, who was working as security on the night, and mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, died in hospital after being injured in the crush.
The deadline for submitting representations that will to go towards the licensing review is midnight tonight. The hearing will take place at a later date.
Michael Kill, chief executive of NTIA said: “The outcry from the music community has been extremely humbling, with over 10,000 responses in just a few days, this level of response really shows the emotional connection that this venue has with music fans across the UK and around the world.
“I have had hundreds of conversations with people on this campaign journey, across all walks of life, journalists, bankers, nurses, builders, baristas, some who have been to a show or planned to go to a show in the future or had shared an important life experience within it.
“The Brixton Academy is a huge part of the social and cultural economy within London and the UK, and is without doubt one of the landmark performance spaces in the world.
“The potential loss of this venue would be catastrophic for the industry.
“Most people who are engaged with this campaign are angered and shocked that this venue could be lost forever.”
Lambeth council have been approached for comment.
Pictured top: Brixton Academy with police cordons after the crush last year (Picture: PA)