Music venue's future secure after charity steps in

The venue originally opened as The Mad Ferret in 2006

The future of a music venue has been secured after it was bought by a charity which was set up to protect grassroots music.

The Ferret on Fylde Road in Preston, which has hosted shows by Ed Sheeran, Buzzcocks and Idles, was under threat after the building which houses it was put up for sale.

It was later registered as an asset of community value, where the council temporarily blocked a commercial sale for six months to give locals time to prepare a bid.

But now the Music Venue Trust (MVT) has bought the 200-capacity venue.

Director and programme manager Matt Fawbert said The Ferret was "a really special place"

The charity said it would act as a landlord "that shares and supports the ambition to bring music to its local community".

Following the purchase, The Ferret’s operators have signed a "cultural lease" that guarantees the use of the building as long as it continues to operate as a community music venue, it said.

The Ferret's director and programme manager, Matt Fawbert, said it was "a really special place".

"You're seeing everything up close and it's loud, it's in your face or sometimes it's intimate and quiet, it's special and that's why these venues are important," he said.

A commemorative plaque will be unveiled later to mark the purchase of the site, which originally opened as The Mad Ferret in 2006 and became a cornerstone of the University of Central Lancashire's student quarter.

MVT said the purchase of The Ferret followed the acquisition in October 2023 of The Snug in Atherton, Greater Manchester, and a further seven venues across the country had been identified for purchase.