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MVP acquires The Booking Hall in Dover
November29
Music Venues Properties (MVP) has announced the latest venue to join its portfolio: The Booking Hal
Music Venues Properties (MVP) has announced the latest venue to join its portfolio: The Booking Hall in Dover, UK.
The acquisition is part of MVP’s mission to safeguard grassroots music venues across the UK, ensuring that they remain cultural hubs for their communities. Known for its rich history and role in live music and events, The Booking Hall will now benefit from long-term security under MVP’s #OwnOurVenues initiative.
The Booking Hall, situated in a 165-year-old, former train station, has become a key player in Kent’s music scene, offering a 280-capacity space for both up-and-coming and established artists including Don Broco, Frank Turner and Soft Play. With this purchase the venue’s future is secure, enabling it to continue its role as a vibrant centre for live music, free from the uncertainty faced by many grassroots music venues in a challenging climate.
Stuart Cameron, the owner of The Booking Hall, said: “Following the owner’s decision earlier this year to put the building up for sale, we were trying to purchase the building ourselves, but did not have the capital up front for a deposit. Without Music Venue Properties stepping in to purchase the venue, the most likely outcome would have been a property developer turning the building into flats/offices.”
MVP’s #OwnOurVenues project, which launched in 2022, focuses on removing grassroots music venues from vulnerable commercial leases by placing them into community ownership. The aim is to provide long-term stability to venues that are essential for fostering local talent and providing cultural value to our communities. The purchase of The Booking Hall marks another step forward for MVP, joining an ever-growing network of protected spaces across the UK.
"We are delighted to announce that The Booking Hall has become the fourth venue that MVP has moved into community ownership. As the only recognised Grassroots Music Venue in Dover, it was crucial that MVP got involved when we did to safeguard this vital community hub. It became clear to us that we had made the right decision when the campaign to save the venue received significant backing from the people of Dover and beyond, and we`d like to thank them alongside our partners at Arts Council England and Figurative, for making this happen" Matthew Otridge, COO Music Venue Properties.
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