Hackney Council issues statement on Dance Tunnel closure

Yesterday one of London’s best-loved clubs Dance Tunnel announced it is closing permanently in August.

The news devastated dance music fans across the city and beyond, leading to Keysound Recordings boss Martin Clark, aka Blackdown, starting a petition to save the nightspot and a Facebook event called Save Dance Tunnel.

A number of DJs came out in support of the petition, including Four Tet, Joy Orbison, Hunnee, The Black Madonna and Perc.

Dan Beaumont then released a new statement, thanking people for the support but outlining that Dance Tunnel’s time in the Kingsland Road basement in Dalston is over.

The post says: “We are extremely humbled by the response to yesterday’s announcement, and the fact that Dance Tunnel means so much to so many people. It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but for us Dance Tunnel’s future lies elsewhere – we still feel that London is still missing the club it truly deserves.

“We need to regroup and look further afield to find a space where we are subject to fewer compromises. We would like to offer our heartfelt and sincere thanks to everyone who has been in touch to offer support.”

Hackney Council has now issued its own statement in response to the petition.

It reads: "Dance Tunnel has a premises licence to operate until 3am. They have not applied to extend their opening hours for over two years. They have however been able to regularly operate until 5am using Temporary Event Notices.

"Hackney Council values its vibrant and exciting nightlife, and we are proud of the borough’s reputation as a night-time destination. However, we need to balance the needs of businesses against the rights of our residents to a good night’s sleep, and as both our population and night time economy grow, that is becoming increasingly hard to do.

"In February we organised a meeting in Shoreditch with residents and business owners to hear their opinions about how we can strike the right balance. We’ll be arranging other opportunities for people to have their say over the coming months, and this will feed into our licensing strategy."

[Image: Nick Cobby]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter