NTIA calls on Hackney Council to save Boxpark Shoreditch from closure

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) is calling on Hackney Council to step in and help save Boxpark Shoreditch from imminent closure.

Boxpark announced earlier in July that it would close for good by the end of summer 2024, marking the end of its 13-year tenure in the heart of Shoreditch.

“We regret to announce that BOXPARK Shoreditch will be closing,” Boxpark’s founder, Roger Wade, announced. “Despite our relentless efforts in collaboration with the GLA, Hackney Council, and our landlords BGY, we must close due to a planning requirement.”

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“Unfortunately, the developers will not start building immediately, which makes this decision even more disheartening, especially since our neighbours Power league received an extension.”

The NTIA, along with local residents, are calling on Hackney Council to look at Boxpark Shoreditch’s impact on the local community and economy since its development.

Since 2011, Boxpark Shoreditch has created more than 1,000 jobs and contributed over £80 million per year to the local economy (over £1 billion since its launch). Boxpark also gives a platform to independent businesses including clothing brands, food retailers, and more.

“Boxpark Shoreditch exemplifies the exact issue faced across the country with red tape and restrictive regulatory controls stalling business investment,” says the NTIA’s Michael Kill. “This has to stop. People are fed up.”

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“The new Government has made an amazing start, and I call on them to reach into the local authority and invigorate the local planning department and Hackney Council to find a solution,” he says.

Boxpark has remained a vital nightlife institution over the past decade as one of the first pop-up spaces to bring together music, food, retail, and community areas under one roof in east London.

Boxpark Shoreditch has welcomed DJs including Girls Don’t Sync, Neptizzle, Ell Murphy, and Jeremiah Asiamah over the years, as well as sets from BBC presenters Nadia Jae, DJ Firestarr, and Jess Iszatt.

Find out more about the NTIA’s campaign to save Boxpark Shoreditch here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter