30,000 signed to save Moth Club. Two years on, why is a decision still hanging over it?

Moth Club, a grassroots venue, won a reprieve in March 2026 when Hackney Council rejected plans to build flats nearby over concerns they could place “unreasonable restrictions” on its operations. But a second application at 6 Morning Lane remains undecided. Councils are normally expected to decide minor developments like this within eight weeks; the Save Moth Club campaign marked two years in September 2026.

A noise report from October 2025 helps explain the delay. The developer’s original assessment identified road traffic as the main source of noise, which council officers did not accept as representative of the venue’s late-night activity. Further monitoring on weekends until 3am was required before the application could progress. It found that the venue’s music exceeded the assessment’s limits, meaning the flats could only co-exist with Moth Club if specific noise mitigation measures were built into the scheme.

Music Venue Trust (MVT) stated that such planning delays make it “harder to plan for the future, manage stakeholders and campaigns alongside business as usual”, calling them “a drain on resources”. Moth Club, for example, has run free fundraising nights where entry required emailing an objection to the council, forgoing ticket revenue.

Rent has also risen, adding pressure on a venue already absorbing the cost of a two-year campaign. Accounts for Rose Sixteen Ltd, the group company that owns the building, show rental income rose 28% to £345,385 in the year to May 2025. MVT’s 2025 annual report found grassroots venues averaged a 2.5% profit margin, with 53% making no profit at all. At that margin, a venue would need £3m in sales to generate £75,000 in profit, the amount by which the rent increased.

So, where is Moth Club now? Open, its campaign page says, and trading normally – but still awaiting a decision while its campaign and rising rent add to its costs.

Moth Club declined to comment, and Hackney Council did not respond to a request for an update.

For: London On The Inside