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The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (BGWMC) has launched a “Fighting Fund” in a campaign to save the venue.
The historic, inclusive east London community space, founded in the 1970s, is fundraising to protect the future of the Grade II listed site, which was handed an eviction notice in August 2024. Since then, the team has collected tens of thousands of signatures on petitions and letters, rallied to resist eviction and gained recognition by Tower Hamlets Council with “Asset of Community Value” and “Certificate of Lawfulness” status. Those titles from the council do not ensure the venue will be safe from developers.
The new Fighting Fund, organised by Friends of BGWMC, is seeking to raise £12,000 by 8th April, to cover the cost of a chartered survey and valuation of the building, and planning application costs for “vital protections”. The £18,000 longer-term fundraising goal will cover additional business and financial planning and fees to set up the site to be purchased by FoBGWMC or by the council and leased to FoBGWMC.
“A community purchase on this scale will be no small task. We are trying to be absolutely realistic about this” Equity’s Variety organiser Nick Keegan said in a press statement. “We believe a partnership between the community of BGWMC and Tower Hamlets Council does have the ability to achieve this. We believe it is essential to save this unique cultural facility and give it a chance to continue serving the local community of Tower Hamlets, the LGBTQ+ community, and the wider cultural tapestry of London for future generations.”
Keegan continued: “BGWMC is a crucial and irreplaceable fixture of London’s cultural heritage. It has been a catalyst for the development of new artists and cultural workers in the city, a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and it is a building with more than 100 years of history as a community owned space. It is vital that we protect BGWMC for future generations and allow its legacy to live on.”
Support the Fighting Fund and find more information via the Save BGWMC Crowdfunder campaign.
