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Fight is on to save comedy venue from a concrete-filled fate
Danny Brierley, Evening Standard29 Aug 2008
One of London's best-loved independent music and comedy clubs is set to be closed down and filled in with concrete.
The subterranean Ginglik venue in Shepherd's Bush is in a converted Edwardian public convenience, which was built to serve spectators of the 1908 Olympic Games at nearby White City.
Musicians including Paulo Nutini and Newton Faulkner, and comedians Rory Bremner, Jimmy Carr, Harry Hill and Frank Skinner are among those who have played at the bunker-style nightspot.
But the building's owner, Hammersmith and Fulham council, says it cannot justify spending the £300,000 needed to damp-proof its walls and make the club structurally safe.
If the money cannot be raised by 5 September it will close it next year and fill the space with concrete.
The damp problem was identified during a building safety inspection and the work was to have been completed as part of a £3.3million revamp of Shepherd's Bush Green.
Ginglik co-founder Tammi Willis, 32, who leases the venue, said: "We have had so many emails from people telling us what an important part of their life Ginglik has been and how upsetting the news is."
An online petition has been signed by more than 700 people and a protest is planned at the site on 20 September.
She added that the club had lost tens of thousands of pounds over the past six years due to flooding but had originally been told there was nothing the council could do about it.
Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh said: "The reality is taxpayers cannot afford the £300,000.
"If the club can come up with the money themselves it could change things. Failing that, the only thing we can do is to help them find another venue."
