A petition has been launched to save the historic Blackwood Miners’ Institute – a live music venue in South Wales that has seen performances from the likes of Manic Street Preachers.
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The push for locals to help save the venue comes after it was reported that Caerphilly council had plans to “mothball” both the venue and the Llancaiach Fawr heritage site in a bid to save £45million.
The site is close to many of the locals however, having seen a number of historic performances over recent decades – including one of the first-ever performances by the Manics in the ‘80s.
It is also the site that the band famously returned to in 2011, when they played their first hometown show in 26 years and delivered one of their most memorable sets in recent memory.
The future of the venue being thrown into question comes as the council has to make around £45million in savings between now and 2026. At the moment, it currently provides the institute with a £347,000 annual subsidy – and £485,000 to Llancaiach Fawr – and therefore would save a hefty amount by withdrawing its support.
While some have backed the proposition, many have called for the venue to be saved and suggested that the council is looking in the wrong places to make cuts. Others have also explained how the impact of the institution closing could be devastating for the local community.
BBC News, for instance, reported that Blackwood deputy mayor George Edwards-Etheridge was the one who started the online petition, as he fears the institute’s closure “would have a massive impact and loss on the local communities and town”.
Manic Street Preachers perform in 2011. CREDIT: Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Similarly, former theatre and art service manager Eloise Tong, told the outlet that she recently left the role because of “the overwhelming stress of fighting for the venue’s future”.
“Obviously I appreciate the council are in very difficult position right now, but they were presented with alternative options and they appear to have chosen the worst-case scenario,” she said.
“I’m just really disappointed and sad because I don’t feel that this decision is in any way necessary… We were open to working with the council to reduce costs where possible. We had also over-achieved on all of the saving targets set by the council, which were quite considerable targets for the last three to four years.”
She continued: “I struggle to understand how it went from: ‘We’ve got time to work through this’ to suddenly ‘We’ve got no time and we’re proposing an immediate closure of the venue’.
“The venue’s loss is not just a blow to Blackwood but to the entire cultural landscape,” Ms Tong added. “It has been integral to the arts industry in Wales, and its closure will leave a significant void.
“It’s a very beautiful historical venue that a lot of people in Wales hold in a special place in their hearts. I just think it’s really sad that the council don’t seem to have appreciated quite how significant is to people.”
Discussing the plans for the venue Council leader Sean Morgan said: “We can’t continue to run our services in the way we always have. We need to explore all options and consider ways of doing things differently.”
He added: “I want to be honest with the community because it is clear that the scale of savings means we need to make some very difficult decisions over the coming months.”
You can find the petition to save the venue here.
This morning, Caerphilly County Borough Council have release further information on the proposed future of Blackwood Miners’ Institute. A 6 week public consultation will now take place, below is a link to further information.https://t.co/E0kcpgfvjr
— Blackwood Miners’ Institute (@BlackwoodMiners) July 30, 2024
The threat of closure is far from one isolated to the Blackwood Miners’ Institute. Earlier this year, NME reported on how 2023 was the “worst year” for music venue closures, according to statistics gathered by the Music Venue Trust.
In its findings, the MVT showed that 125 grassroots venues shut down in 2023 – causing a loss of 4,000 jobs, with 14,500 events no longer possible and 193,230 opportunities lost to musicians.
The MVT found that venues solely dedicated to live music were among the hardest hit of all independent venues, facing an average shortfall of £137,501 over the past year. This is despite fans typically paying higher ticket prices and spending more per head.
One of those impacted is the historic Bush Hall venue in Shepherds Bush, London, which revealed that it needed to raise £42,000 through crowdfunding to prevent it from losing its music status.
In a bid to save the space, Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols have teamed up for three upcoming, sold-out shows at the site, set to take place later this month.
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