OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 - Research - Nightclubs in decline

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 - Research - Nightclubs in decline

• In 2005, there were 3,144 clubs across the UK compared to the 1,733 that stand today, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), an organisation which represents venues. 

• Classed as a place meant for the “late night entertainment of music and dancing”, the club scene in the UK has been recognised as one of the most vibrant and progressive in the world, attracting tourists from across the globe. 

• However, figures show a dramatic decline in the number of successful nightclubs and experts predict the fall will leave the UK worse off “culturally, socially and economically”.

• Some industry professionals believe the drop is due to a rise in the number and popularity of music festivals, whereas others claim the smoking ban, a lack of policing and ‘a crackdown on fun’ is responsible.

• Late licences are routinely met with opposition, pubs and clubs are routinely blamed for anti-social behaviour and local authorities have the power to tax and stifle late-night licensed businesses,” she said. 

• “Established venues now find themselves at odds with residents, battling against noise complaints and fighting unreasonable planning laws.

• I don't think the number of people going out at the weekend is any different to where it was 20 years ago, but I do think they are going to different places," he said. 

• "With the advent of later pub opening hours, the smoking ban, student tuition fees and the squeeze that a lot people are under financially since the recession, I think people are finding different ways and different places to go out."

• “I’ve witnessed first-hand the closing down and opening of clubs and I think it’s a cycle, The cycle follows the current trend, which goes from festivals, to partying abroad - people will do whatever everyone else is doing. I’m confident the trend will run full circle again, bringing life back to newer clubs.”

- Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate for London mayor - "I don't want young and   creative Londoners abandoning our city to head to Amsterdam, to Berlin, to Prague where clubs are supported and allowed to flourish."

• Khan said he supports the agent of change principle, where the cost of soundproofing falls on developers, not venues—new legislation similar to this principle is coming into effect on April 6th—and also got behind existing plans to appoint a night-time champion in London. "A third of London's small music venues have closed since 2007, damaging our city's cultural offering and having a negative effect on jobs and the economy," Khan says. "I will make it more difficult for redevelopment to result in the closure of heritage and cultural venues by strengthening the London Plan. I want London to be a 24-hour-city so I will make the night tube a priority. We can save London's iconic club scene, which draws thousands of visitors to the capital, generates jobs and helps ensure our city remains prosperous, vibrant and dynamic."