The Leadmill: Landlord says it stepped in to save famous Sheffield music venue from becoming flats
The Leadmill’s landlord has claimed it stepped in to save the famous Sheffield music venue from being turned into flats.
The Electric Group, which owns the building on Leadmill Road, in Sheffield city centre, spoke out as the battle for the iconic nightclub’s future heats up.
Why has The Leadmill asked people to object to licensing application?
In a statement on its Facebook page, The Leadmill said: “As many of you are aware, our landlords have issued The Leadmill with an eviction notice in order to operate from this location themselves. If they are successful, this would result in The Leadmill ceasing to exist after 43 years.
“Our landlords have recently moved forward with their plans to evict The Leadmill by applying for their own premises licence. We are asking for your help in objecting to their licence application before Wednesday 24th May.”
Dominic Madden, CEO of Electric Group, which already runs the Electric Brixton, SWX Bristol and NX Newcastle music venues, has now broken his long silence to respond to The Leadmill’s latest claims.
In a statement, he said: “We have owned the Leadmill premises since 2017. With the current lease coming to an end, Electric Group has applied for a licence application as part of the transition process. As we have always maintained, we intend to continue operating the space as a music venue, focussing on a diverse mix of gigs, club nights and comedy events. We’re an independent music venue operator which is committed to music and investing in venues.
What other clubs does The Leadmill’s landlord run and what are its plans for the Sheffield venue?
“We have been running licensed venues since 2003 and have never had any issue or licence review. Our venues in London, Newcastle and Bristol host hundreds of gigs and events every year for thousands of music fans.
“Our team has many years of experience running venues, producing theatre and promoting gigs. When we purchased the freehold for the Leadmill in 2017 it was threatened with redevelopment into flats. We didn’t want that to happen, so we stepped in to buy it and save it – something the leaseholder was not prepared to do.
“The current Leadmill campaign is unfortunately misleading people into thinking we want to close the venue with no regard for its history. That is not the case. In fact, we want to invest in the future of the space – albeit one which will mark the start of a new chapter for a building which has many generations of history with a variety of different operators since it was first a flour mill.
“We hope to be a great custodian of the venue for the next generation. We recognise the roots of the Leadmill within the community and we are determined to see it succeed and thrive.”
How much did The Leadmill’s landlord pay for the building in 2017?
Mr Madden has repeatedly declined to comment when asked by The Star what steps if any have been taken to evict The Leadmill’s current operators since their existing 20-year lease expired on March 25 this year, and whether he hopes to keep the name if Electric Group does take over the building.
MVL Properties, of which Mr Madden is the director, initially applied on April 5 for a ‘shadow’ premises licence. That application has been withdrawn, with no reason given, and a new one was submitted on April 26, with the deadline for written representations falling on May 24.