Club 85 is at risk

Club 85 in Hitchin are looking for a new venue. The grassroots venue is an important venue for the Hertfordshire and Hitchin music scene and it will be a sad loss if they are unable to find a new venue.

The landlords of Club 85, Jas and Ranjit Lidder have decided to retire and have submitted plans to turn the space into flats. They have applied to North Herts Council to turn the space into 16 apartments.

As you would expect, there has been a strong response from music lovers across Hertfordshire with many objecting to the development on the council website.

However, a statement from Bob and the Club 85 team is more reflective.

“While we want to thank everyone for objecting to the planning application and thus showing the council how important the venue is to you and the town, we would like to encourage you to act with kindness towards our landlord, we have no ill will towards Jas, we understand his decision to retire and we can understand wanting to do what is in the interest of supporting family.”

“So, after a glorious 20+ years running 1000’s of gigs at Club 85, it is with great sorrow that we have to say we’re probably not going to be in this building for more than a year or so.”

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to Jas and his family for hosting our Grassroots Music Venue and wish him well in his retirement.”

“While the our future is not yet secure, we are working to establish our options towards finding a positive resolution and even a new location locally that we aim to make even better for our community.”

“We look forward to continuing conversations with Music Venue Trust, North Herts District Council, stakeholders and the music community to ensure live music continues to thrive in our town.”

“Over the years we have proved that North Herts needs and supports a Grassroots Music Venue, so many acts have grown up on our stage and gone on to stardom and many successful industry professionals took their first steps with us.”

“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far and look forward to continuing to bring great live music to our community.”

“We are going to need your support over the coming year or so to prepare for this move.”