MOTH Club Wins Major Battle as Council Refuses Flats Application

Hackney Council has refused a planning application for six private apartments on Morning Lane that would have been built directly overlooking the MOTH Club, in what the venue is calling a "huge win" in its battle for survival.

The decision, made on 25 March 2026, found that the proposal "fails to demonstrate that the new residential use would not result in unreasonable restrictions being placed on the MOTH Club." Other factors in the refusal included a lack of accessibility provision and insufficient affordable housing.

The MOTH Club, located in the Old Trades Hall on Valette Street, has been a cornerstone of Hackney's grassroots music scene since 2015, when it was taken over by the team behind the Shacklewell Arms and Rich Mix. The venue hosts emerging artists across genres from punk to afrobeat and has a capacity of 300.

The Save MOTH Club campaign gathered over 30,000 signatures on its petition and attracted national media attention. The venue argued that the development plans were deliberately split into two separate applications to avoid the obligation to include social housing.

However, the venue has warned that it is "not out of the woods yet." A second planning application for an adjoining site remains under consideration by the council, and MOTH Club says this would also have "devastating consequences" for the venue's operations.

Independent London Fields candidate Rafie Faruq has made protection of venues like MOTH Club a centrepiece of his council campaign, calling for the Agent of Change principle to be formally adopted in Hackney's planning policy so that developers, not venues, bear the cost of soundproofing when building near existing music spaces.

The MOTH Club continues to operate a full programme of live music. Residents can submit objections to the second planning application through the Hackney Council planning portal.