Sheffield’s The Leadmill loses eviction fight in “heartbreaking moment”
Liam Gallagher has hit out at the decision, which the Leadmill team have branded "heartbreaking"
By Nick Reilly
Sheffield’s celebrated music venue The Leadmill has announced it will have to leave its premises within three months after losing their battle against eviction.
The grassroots venue said it had lost its long-running battle against its landlord Electric Group and will now have to vacate, in what has been branded a “heartbreaking moment not just for our team but for the entire Sheffield community.”
High-profile backers of the fight to save the space included some of the bands who played formative gigs there at early stages of their career. Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker had given it his backing, while Liam Gallagher – who played at the venue with Oasis in 1994 – branded the closure “scandalous”.
“We’ve fought tirelessly to protect this independent venue which has supported countless artists, musicians and creatives for over four decades,” a statement from The Leadmill said, adding that “today’s decision feels like a betrayal of the cultural fabric of our city.”
They went on to say that though they are “truly devastated by this outcome”, they “also know hand on heart that we did everything possible to stop the Leadmill being evicted. We have poured our energy, time, love and determination into this fight and we’re immensely proud of our team and the community that stood by us.”
Looking forward, they warned that their plight has “ramifications for every business tenant in the country”, adding that “the judgment in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal confirms that tenants have no rights whatsoever, that if a landlord wants to profit from evicting the tenant and copying the tenant’s business, it can do so.”
“We are devastated but not defeated,” they concluded. “This is not the end of The Leadmill’s spirit – it’s a call to action for everyone who believes in the importance of independent culture.”
A series of farewell gigs are set to take place in the coming months.