It’s the end of an era for a pillar of London’s club scene.
Printworks started from humble beginnings. The iconic club was perhaps never intended to become a staple within the dance music community, but that’s precisely the level of prestige Printworks ascended to since first opening its doors around five years ago.
Unfortunately, it appears the saga of Printworks will end with the storied venue having recently been approved for a full developmental conversion into office space and shops.
Per an application submitted to London’s Southwark Council by the property’s owner, Printworks was only meant to be a temporary endeavor while the space was continuing to be developed. The club rose out of the ashes of a defunct printing plant previously occupying the space, which is how it got its name.
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Dance music fans had united in an attempt to save the venue and garnered over 11,000 signatures on a petition to stop the conversion. Despite their efforts, however, the London council approved the new development to move forward.
“It is noted that a significant number of objections have been received in respect of the loss of the club/music venue currently operating on the site,” council officials said in a report, per Complete Music Update. “It is acknowledged that this use has been very successful”, the report conceded. “However, the events use was initiated as a short-term interim (meanwhile) use in 2016 pending development of the building within the masterplan. It was never intended to be a permanent use of the site.”
Printworks remains open for the moment. Its final closing date is thus far unconfirmed at the time of writing.