The Yard to move venues following Hackney Wick redevelopment

Hackney Wick’s The Yard Theatre is set to relocate in the “coming years” after the area undergoes redevelopment.

The venue was established in 2011 in a disused warehouse by a group of volunteers led by Jay Miller, and has spent the past five years curating and hosting an exciting program of arts and music events, spanning theatrical productions to club nights.

Plans for regeneration in the area are now being drawn up by the London Legacy Development Corporation, which will include the construction of 116 new homes and The Yard’s current building to “cease to exist”.

Residential-induced club closures have been a blight on London’s nightlife scene in recent years, but The Yard has made it clear this is not the situation in this instance. The redevelopment will see The Yard make positive steps forward into a brand new and bigger space, with Dan Hampson, Head of Events & Music Programming, asserting it is "definitely not a case of developers closing us down.”

LLDC will work closely with The Yard and assist the move, with proposals for an expanded theatre and new bar included within the planning permission request for the area’s development.

In a statement posted to Facebook, The Yard outlined that the future is bright, writing: “We hope this will provide us with the opportunity to build something new. To start a new phase for The Yard. To ensure grassroots culture remains in Hackney Wick. To take what we’ve learnt and grown over the last five years and create a new space.”

No fixed date has been set for the relocation, but The Yard has stated “we’re very much at the early stages of this process.”

For more details, head to The Yard’s website.

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