MOTH Club spared closure threat after Hackney rejects second development plan

MOTH Club in Hackney, East London, will remain open after Hackney Council rejected a second planning application for residential development beside the venue. The club announced the decision on October 30, according to Mixmag, and says it will continue operating as usual.

The dispute involved two development applications made in 2024 for sites close to MOTH Club on Valette Street. The venue said the proposals would have “devastating consequences for its future”, Mixmag reported. The concern was that new homes immediately beside an active music venue could bring noise complaints and pressure on its ability to operate.

Community opposition grew during the campaign. Mixmag reported that around 27,000 people emailed local councillors to protest the plans. Shindig Music reported that Hackney Council had logged more than 27,000 objection emails by December 2025.

The first application was rejected in March 2026. It proposed six flats and a ground-floor commercial space directly next to the club, according to Mixmag. But the second application remained unresolved. MOTH Club said that remaining proposal has now been refused too.

The venue thanked the 35,000 people who signed its petition, along with Hackney Council and its planning department, Hackney mayor Zoë Garbett and her team, and campaign and nightlife groups. Those named by the club included Hackney Nights, Save Our Scene, the Night Time Industries Association and Music Venue Trust.

For MOTH Club’s community, the immediate result is clear: the venue says it can carry on as normal. The story also speaks to a wider challenge for grassroots spaces when development is proposed right beside venues where music and other events take place. That context matters to fans and crews who rely on local rooms as places to gather, even though the planning decision is specific to this Hackney venue.

MOTH Club framed the campaign as more than a fight over one club. In a statement reported by Mixmag, it said: “Remember, this was never just about MOTH Club. It’s about every space like ours, in every town and city on the planet. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.”

MOTH Club first opened in 1972, according to Mixmag. Shindig Music describes a programme that spans live music, comedy, film screenings and club nights. The venue has hosted artists including Lady Gaga, Jarvis Cocker, IDLES, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Caroline Polachek, Amyl and the Sniffers, Wunderhorse and Sprints.

That range is a reminder that grassroots venues serve overlapping music and cultural communities. The decision does not guarantee anything about other venues or planning cases, but it is a significant update for the people who backed this particular campaign.

MOTH Club has said it plans to celebrate with what it called the greatest party the venue has witnessed, adding: “Watch this space.” No date or further event details were included in the reports. For now, the confirmed update is that the second application has been refused and the club says it will continue operating as usual.