Regal London to work with campaign group to revive gay bar
A fundraiser to replace a famed east London gay bar that was shut down by development has secured its future as the UK’s first community-run LGBTQ+ venue.
The Friends of the Joiners Arms (Fotja) campaign group confirmed that it had hit its target of £100,000, raising more than £30,000 since the weekend.
In 2015 the pub on Hackney Road, Tower Hamlets, was closed. Permission was granted to the freeholder for a hotel and Regal London brought in as development manager. An operator was lined up to take the lease on a planned hotel, but the plans were abandoned after Covid struck.
A fundraiser to replace a famed east London gay bar that was shut down by development has secured its future as the UK’s first community-run LGBTQ+ venue.
The Friends of the Joiners Arms (Fotja) campaign group confirmed that it had hit its target of £100,000, raising more than £30,000 since the weekend.
In 2015 the pub on Hackney Road, Tower Hamlets, was closed. Permission was granted to the freeholder for a hotel and Regal London brought in as development manager. An operator was lined up to take the lease on a planned hotel, but the plans were abandoned after Covid struck.
Steve Harrington, planning director at Regal London, said: “The challenges of the last two years have had a catastrophic impact across the breadth of the hospitality sector, and as a consequence, the hotel operator that we had anticipated taking the lease fell away. We are working hard to find another partner so that we can progress the development.”
But he added that he would like to “continue to work closely” with Fotja on their future plans.
“We are really disappointed not to have been able to progress with restoring this iconic LGBTQI+ venue at pace,” he said. “We would like to continue to work closely with the Friends of the Joiners Arms on their plans for the future, our relationships with our neighbours and community groups are key, and we’ll do what we can to support this important space to be created.”
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