SAVE MOTH CLUB
As of, 24th September 2026: MOTH Club is still under threat.
As you will be aware, two separate planning applications were submitted to Hackney Council to build flats on Morning Lane, overlooking the MOTH Club. The first has been refused. The second is still live. WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!
SIGN THE PETITION HERE
THE FIRST APPLICATION: REFUSED
On 25 March 2026 Hackney Council refused the application for six private apartments on Morning Lane, directly overlooking the venue.
The council refused it on four grounds. The applicant had failed to demonstrate that the new residential use would not result in unreasonable restrictions being placed on MOTH Club. There was a lack of affordable housing. There were accessibility failings. And the building would have had an overbearing presence on the conservation area.
That decision followed more than 27,000 emails of objection to the council. Thank you to every single person who signed it and sent it to a friend. It worked!
THE SECOND APPLICATION: STILL LIVE
The second scheme is at 6 Morning Lane, backing directly onto the venue. It proposes 7 homes and 55 sq m of commercial space.
It is still with Hackney Council and it has not been decided.
The Music Venue Trust has objected to it on the grounds that the residential units fall below standard and that the scheme gives inadequate consideration to noise impact.
WHY THIS THREATENS THE VENUE
MOTH Club has run live music in this building since 2015, in a hall that has been an ex-servicemen’s club since long long before that. Put new homes directly against a venue without designing properly for sound, and the noise complaints follow. Complaints lead to conditions on the licence, and conditions on the licence are how grassroots venues close.
This is what the Agent of Change principle exists to prevent. The responsibility for managing sound sits with the new development, not with the venue that is already there.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Sign the petition. It is at over 36,000 signatures. Sign it here.
2. Object to Hackney Council directly. This carries more weight than anything else on this page, because the council has to formally consider it. Find the 6 Morning Lane application on the Hackney planning register and comment on it, or email planning@hackney.gov.uk quoting the address.
3. Tell people. Share this page, and come to a show.
WHO IS BACKING THE CAMPAIGN
The Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene are both formally involved, alongside the Night Time Industries Association.
Lewis Capaldi, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tame Impala, Hot Chip and Rough Trade have all publicly backed the venue.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID
"Fails to demonstrate that the new residential use would not result in unreasonable restrictions being placed on the MOTH Club."
Hackney Council, refusal report on the first application, 25 March 2026
Reported by NME
"MVT hopes that Hackney Council makes the right decision and refuses this one, too."
Lloyd Bent, national coordinator, Music Venue Trust, 1 April 2026
Hackney Citizen
"We are pleased to see that Hackney Council has made the correct decision."
Music Venue Trust, 26 March 2026
NME
"Throughout this planning process, we have been met with zero clarity, zero communication, and zero fairness. We deserve better, and so does every venue fighting to keep culture alive in this city."
Keith Miller, MOTH Club, 17 December 2025
NME
"Huge names have already signed up to support us; from Green Day, Lewis Capaldi and Tame Impala to just about every venue, label and promoter in London."
Keith Miller, MOTH Club, 17 December 2025
NME
"It's one of the great London venues. Some are very soulless and lacking in any real 'vibe'; not so with the MOTH Club!"
Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip, 12 December 2025
East End Review
"MOTH Club is a beloved, unique and vital part of so many artists' development and must be protected as a place of historic cultural significance."
Los Bitchos, 12 December 2025
East End Review
"In Hackney we are proud of our nightlife and live music and performance scene, and we know just how vital spaces like MOTH Club are for the communities in our borough."
Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney, 12 December 2025
East End Review
"These proposals have been deliberately split into two applications to avoid the obligation to include social housing."
MOTH Club, 21 November 2024
NME
"Building multi-storey blocks towering over an independent venue like MOTH would have devastating consequences for its future."
MOTH Club, 21 November 2024
NME
COVERAGE
Hackney Citizen, 1 April 2026
Moth Club gets reprieve as council blocks planning bid, but venue not out of the woods
Far Out, 26 March 2026
London's Moth Club celebrates victory in planning application battle
NME, 26 March 2026
MOTH Club secure "huge win" in battle for survival, but "the fight is not over" and they still need your help
NME, 17 December 2025
Hackney Council receives over 27,000 emails to save Moth Club as the battle continues
East End Review, 12 December 2025
Petition to 'save MOTH Club' reaches 30,000 signatures as supporters say it 'must be protected'
Eastlondonlines, December 2025
Thousands protest to Hackney Council over future of legendary music venue
Broadsheet, 27 November 2025
Musicians and Londoners Band Together To Save Moth Club
Hackney Citizen, 15 July 2025
Moth Club campaigners in dark over plans for neighbouring block, as 20,000 sign petition
DJ Mag, 22 November 2024
Moth Club launches petition opposing planning application for new flats
Mixmag, 22 November 2024
Petition launched to protect Hackney's MOTH club amid development plans
NME, 21 November 2024
London's legendary MOTH Club now under threat from second planning application for flats
DON’T WORRY, THE VENUE IS STILL OPEN!
MOTH Club is trading normally and the programme is unaffected. The best thing you can do for a grassroots venue is use it!
See what is on, or read about private hire and film hire.
For press enquiries about the campaign, email info@mothclub.co.uk.