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The situation.
Mid 2023, The Booking Hall, Dover received some concerning news. The owner of the building which houses The Booking Hall Dover is putting the property up for sale. This puts the future of The Booking Hall music venue at immediate threat as there is no guarantee the venue could keep operating under new ownership. The likeliest outcome would be that the building would be purchased by developers, meaning no more music venue.
The Booking Hall was granted first refusal to purchase the building and the team at the venue have been working tirelessly to try and find a way to purchase the building in a sustainable and financially feasible way. Sadly, this can’t be done without outside financial help.
Enter Music Venue Properties, a charitable Community Benefit Society set up by Music Venue Trust, who have already run a successful campaign called Own Our Venues. This campaign raised funds to purchase freeholds of 9 different venues in the UK that were at immediate risk just like The Booking Hall Dover. This was done via the public purchasing community shares starting at £100.
Music Venue Properties have now included The Booking Hall Dover into the Own Our Venues campaign and are making a very substantial financial commitment to purchase The Booking Hall. However, as The Booking Hall was not one of the original 9 venues in the Own Our Venues campaign, there is a short fall of £25,000 and that is where we are looking for your support.
Although being in this situation at all is less than ideal it’s not all doom and gloom. In under a year, we have gone from not knowing if we would still be open and operating, to only being £25,000 away from securing the future of the venue forever.
That’s fantastic news! What seemed like an impossible challenge is within our reach.
So, what’s the plan?
Well, it’s a big ask from us to you, the loyal Booking Hall and live music community. We are asking you to donate what you can via our crowdfunder campaign to help buy the building and secure the future of live music in the Southeast. There are various rewards for donating so please do give what you can.
Alternatively if you would rather invest then you can still buy community shares in the Own Our Venues campaign HERE – Minimum investment is £100.
We understand though that some of you who wish to back this initiative might not be able to buy a full share, which is why our crowdfunder has no minimum donation.
If we are successful:
- Music Venue Properties would be the owners of the building and secure the venue forever as a cultural space for our community
- The Booking Hall music venue would be offered a cultural lease and would become a Community Interest Company.
- Current venue operator Stuart Cameron would stay with the venue to ensure continued success with the business.
- Most importantly Dover and the Southeast secures a quality live music venue for future generations of musicians and concert goers, that’s the best bit, right?!