The Ministry of Sound nightclub is objecting to the redevelopment by Oakmayne of Eileen House in Elephant and Castle. The scheme pictured below has already been revised twice to make it shorter after both London Mayor Boris Johnson and government quango English Heritage expressed concerns about its height. In March 2009, after already reducing the height of the scheme Boris Johnson said it would ruin views from
Now the Ministry of Sound nightclub which lies directly across the road from the site has got in on the act voicing their objections to Southwark Council. They are worried that with 1,000 new residents moving in next door, just 1 has to complain, which could lead to a challenge of their license.
Oakmayne have offered to soundproof the club and pay the £400,000 towards it. Ministry of Sound say they will have to close up for up to a year and aren't prepared to compromise.
BBC 6 music even has a petition going to 'save it from the developers'. Ministry were there first way before the gentrifiers, 19 years it's been running with 300,000 people annually passing through its doors. With big London clubs closing in recent years like Turnmills and more recently The Astoria due to Crossrail London clubbers will hope another one is not wiped off the map.
Let's hope the two parties can come to a compromise though, becasue Elephant and Castle desperately needs the continued regeneration efforts that hopefully Strata will bring. £20m of S106 planning benefits is also at stake with £16m of that going towards affordable housing.
Click on this link to view the Eileen House wiki page on estatesgazette.com
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