What’s going to happen with Printworks London? There seems to be literally no one out there who knows the answer to this question – even asking Printworks themselves is frankly a waste of time. Last week, the venue released a statement where they proudly announced “we’re in detailed talks [with British Land] about our return to our much-loved venue”.
Hooray! The Printworks will be staying open and everything will be alright with the world, yes? Not exactly. Here’s the statement in its entirety…
In order to work out how to interpret this statement, Ears To The House decided to have a quick look at the facts. Back in July, Southwark Council voted unanimously to approve a joint application between themselves and development firm British Land. This company acquired this land a decade ago, and the building where Printworks now stands was previously, indeed, a printing press for the likes of the Daily Mail.
When completed, the colossal £3.5billion development will see the construction of 3000 new net-zero houses, up to 200,000 square metres in workspaces such as offices, and a leisure centre – consisting of a swimming pool, sports courts and gym. 79 council homes will be built on the eastern part of the site as well.
Be in no doubt – this is a seismic project which will change the dynamic of the whole area. And as much as we don’t wish to be doomsayers, the houses in this area are likely to sell for very significant amounts of money. Those people spending their hard-earned cash might not be best pleased at the prospect of having a nightclub near their home.
Anyone looking through the story of London nightlife – and many other cities, too – will quickly become aware that complaints about noise from nightclubs and gentrification go hand in hand. And whilst we’re no experts, we somehow don’t see the Printworks returning in anything close to its current form to this site – if it does return at all…
