A protest will take place outside the Joiners Arms on Saturday afternoon over owners’ and developers “greed”, two years after the legendary gay venue closed.
CREDIT: Friends of Joiners Arms / FacebookThe Joiners Arms was shuttered two years ago and now campaigners are planning to hold a demonstration outside the Joiners Arms, Hackney Road, on Saturday 21st January.
The demo is organised by the Friends of the Joiners Arms, a community group founded in 2014 to save and evolve the Joiners Arms pub. The group hopes to bring the pub into community ownership, so it becomes London’s first cooperatively owned, LGBT+ community centre, with the pub a central part of its operation.
In 2015 the pub was closed after owners working with property developers – planned to bulldoze the venue to make way for new homes. The pub has remained empty since its closure. One of the Friends of the Joiners Arms co-chairs called the motive to close the iconic venue as “greed and nothing else”.
Jon Ward, co-chair of the Friends of the Joiners Arms, said,
“The Joiners was one the few late night LGBTQIA venues in the east end, and its closure has left a massive hole in queer night scene and in our hearts. The venue closed because of greed and nothing else – why should such an important queer space be left to rot when it could be such an asset to the community?”
Amy Roberts, co-chair of Friends of the Arms, says:
“We invite everyone to join us at 1.30pm on Saturday to show the strength of feeling that remains – the Joiners Arms is our space, and the community wants it back!”