Iconic London venue fighting to stay open says new taskforce has ‘forgotten us’

A venue proprietor has said his manufacture has been ‘forgotten about’ successful London’s new ‘Nightlife Taskforce’.

The Mayor of London announced London’s caller autarkic Nightlife Taskforce connected Tuesday aft the city’s erstwhile Night Czar Amy Lamé stepped down successful October.

Her resignation came arsenic London suffered a 19% diminution successful precocious nighttime venues since Covid lockdowns, with iconic venues including Tiger Tiger and G-A-Y announcing their closures or planned sales.

The caller radical consists of 11 members, each of whom bring their ain expertise and ‘represents an incredibly wide spectrum’.

But the radical organisers person been accused of forgetting cinemas and theatres, some of which are a ‘major portion of the nighttime clip economy’.

The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, which attracts 250,000 visitors each year, said they are being ‘bullied into closure’ by their landlord Zedwell LSQ.

Owner Ben Freedman, who is battling to support his venue open, said helium does not recognize wherefore neither helium nor different radical successful the manufacture were included successful the taskforce.

He told Metro: ‘It seems bonkers cinema hasn’t been included, I don’t recognize wherefore we aren’t a portion of it. We didn’t adjacent cognize astir it until it was announced.

‘We are 1 of the much fashionable activities for Londoners successful the evening, yet we aren’t going done the champion tally astatine the infinitesimal and request assistance and support.’

The cinema, which opened successful 1962, claims the landlord wants an summation successful rent supra marketplace rates successful an effort to unopen the concern and redevelop the property.

This is contempt the Prince Charles being 1 of the country’s best-loved cinemas, and has been praised by Hollywood actors and directors.

Mr Freedman said: ‘There is the information that if we support being forgotten about, past america and different autarkic cinemas volition close.’

Campaign #SaveThePCC has been acceptable up, with more than 150,000 signing the petition.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: ‘The Mayor is committed to championing and supporting each aspects of London’s world-leading taste and nighttime offer, including the unthinkable scope of autarkic theatres and cinemas successful the capital.

‘City Hall’s Culture and Community Spaces astatine Risk Office continues to assistance venues with the challenges that they are facing and is successful interaction with the operators of the Prince Charles Cinema to research what we tin bash to assistance them, arsenic we physique a much prosperous London for everyone.’

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