Sheffield Leadmill: Protest as panel considers music venue's future

Protesters outside Sheffield Town Hall ahead of the licensing meeting on 18 September

A protest has taken place outside Sheffield Town Hall at the start of a hearing to consider the future of the city's Leadmill nightclub.

Councillors are considering an application by MVL Properties for a shadow premises licence for the building, which is owned by Electric Group.

Ahead of the meeting about 100 people gathered in support of current venue operators The Leadmill Ltd.

The hearing was due to last two days.

According to council documents, MVL Properties has applied for a licence in the exact terms as the existing licence held by building tenants The Leadmill.

The application states that the two licences "will not operate at the same time" but that, if granted, would allow the landlord "to have his own licence to protect his position should the tenant do anything to put the premises licence in jeopardy".

Operators The Leadmill, who were served with an eviction notice in 2022, have previously claimed Electric Group wanted "to evict us and close us down".

Electric Group's CEO Dominic Madden, however, said the venue was "incredibly important [and] it's not going anywhere".

The Leadmill first opened in 1980

On Monday, Sheffield City Council's licensing sub-committee heard the application had sparked around 150 objections.

Addressing the panel, Sarah Clover, on behalf of The Leadmill, claimed the application was "unlawful" and criticised the lack of a designated premise supervisor (DPS) or comment from the police.

Ms Clover claimed the licence would be "Frankenstein's monster that you cannot control".

She told the committee: "You don't have a 24-hour licence granted that you could operate the next day without a DPS.

"There has been an unusual reluctance in the response from the police and authorities to step up to the plate.

"The police are not here, they should be and it's wrong. You should require them to be here."

In response Mr Madden's legal representative, Paddy Whur, said the application had followed the "correct legal process" and was "valid".

He said the application for a shadow licence had been made as The Leadmill had indicated they would "never" transfer the licence and explained that appointing a DPS was "not appropriate" at this stage.

Ms Clover argued Mr Madden had submitted the application to "secure the eviction" and said her client's future would be uncertain should the licence be granted.

She asked councillors: "What would happen practically if you granted this licence to Mr Madden?

"Should [my client] politely carry on operating and hold the fort and do his duty until Mr Madden is ready to snatch it off him?"

However, Mr Whur said the objections heard from The Leadmill during the hearing were "evidence why there was a need to do it" and claimed its purpose was to "protect legitimate business interests".

Referencing the long-running campaign against Mr Madden and the Electric Group, Mr Whur said: "If there hadn't been a very strong vocal and impassioned objection over the loss of The Leadmill, we wouldn't be here today because this is a valid application and your officers would have accepted this and it would have been granted."

Ms Clover went on to raise concerns around allegations of overcrowding and underaged access at Electric Group's other venues in Bristol, Brixton and Newcastle.

In response, Mr Madden told councillors none of his premises had ever been put into review and that Electric Group had "an outstanding track record of compliance".

He said the allegations shared online seemed "almost Trumpian," adding: "Almost all of the allegations on social media, if you look at the main ones, the concerns can all be extinguished."

The hearing, initially scheduled for two days, concluded after just one with a decision set to be announced in the coming days.

A legal dispute between the tenant and landlord remains ongoing.