Brixton Hill Studios temporarily saved from closure
Brixton Hill Studios has been temporarily saved. The news follows a campaign from the business owner, local politicians and the public that pressured the landlord, Lexadon Property Group, who had threatened the rehearsal space and recording studio with closure after nearly a decade of operations in the same building, following a 133% rent hike they were unwilling to negotiate on.
In a video posted to social media, Brixton Hill Studios owner Stephen Gilchrist announced that his business has been temporarily saved from the threat of closure by Lexadon: “I’m very pleased to say that we’ve managed to get round the negotiating table with Lexadon, our landlords, and they have granted us an extension on our lease, which is fantastic news.”
Thanking the local politicians who have supported the cause, he continued: “This couldn’t have been done without the help of our local MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who has put in so much time and support, as well as the Mayor of Lambeth, and Lambeth Council, in particular, councillors Olga Fitzroy and David Bridson, who’ve really got involved, right from the beginning.”
“And last but not least, the 5,800 of you that signed Jimmy Smith’s petition and shouted our cause from your social media rooftops. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts,” Gilchrist added. “We didn’t realise how important we were to you and what this place meant to you. You took our tiny little voice, and you turned it into a glorious choir.”
However, the businessman explained that only a short-term solution has been reached. “This lease is a short-term solution, and we’ve had to make a considerable investment to stay open, which is great; we know we’re going to be here for a while, but we have to look towards the future.”
Outlining his plans for the future, Gilchrist and his team are looking to purchase a community-owned building: “So, we’re going to be announcing a campaign next week to buy a community-owned building, which you can get involved with. I can’t say very much now because we’re still hammering out the details.” In addition to this, Brixton Hill Studios has prepared a short survey to collect more information from the community regarding their plans.
He concluded: “This is great news. We’ve got an exciting future ahead of us – potentially… Thanks for making this happen.”
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