A beloved east London record store is at risk of closure

It’s a familiar tale in nightlife: an area becomes popular due to its music scene, people move to that area, then they complain said venue is too noisy, and the space could be forced to close. Now the popular record shop and events space The BBE Store in Hackney could join a string of venues in the capital following this arc.

In recent times, London’s pubs and clubs have been forced to follow strict demands or risk losing their licences due to objections from neighbours. There was the Sekforde Pub in Islington, Blondies Brewery in Leyton, and just last week, the beloved community venue Walthamstow Trades Hall. Next time you’re in a pub in a seemingly happening part of town on a Saturday night and its last orders are at 11pm, you can blame going to bed early on NIMBYs.

Since 2016, The BBE Store has been selling records and entertaining the community from its free-to-enter events space in London Fields. Set up by the Black music record label BBE, which was founded in 1996, the Hackney venue describes itself as ‘simple’, where ‘anyone can come in and enjoy the space’.

BBE – which stands for Barely Breaking Even – recently launched a fundraising campaign fighting against a licence review from Hackney Council after the venue said it had received noise complaints coming from a new residential building nearby.

Writing on the website for the fundraiser, BBE said: ‘After the pandemic, a new residential building went up across the road from the Store, on what is a largely commercial, industrial street.

‘Over the past year, several businesses on the street, including ours, have faced a steady stream of noise complaints.

‘Working with Hackney Council, we’ve installed noise limiters and acoustic curtains, among other measures. We’ve also cut our evening opening to three nights a week, dropping Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays.’

But the shop said this was not enough to stop the complaints. It said it has now received a Notice of Application to review its licence. The store is hoping to raise £20,000 to pay lawyers and planning consultants; it has also launched a petition to garner support and has received over 11,00 signatures so far.

A spokesperson for Hackney Council said: ‘We have not taken any steps to close the BBE Store in London Fields. Like all councils, we are obliged to review the licence of any venue if we receive an application raising issues about how the venue operates. The review will consider all representations made alongside first-hand evidence from the venue.’

In happier news, a new lesbian pub is opening in this cool south London neighbourhood.