Who Are We?

We are an established world renowned Black music independent label founded in 1996. We have been operating our business from our Helmsley Place location since 2016 as well as using the space as a shop and event space.

What’s the issue?

After the pandemic, a new residential building went up across the road from the Store, on what is a largely commercial, industrial street.

Over the past year, several businesses on the street, including ours, have faced a steady stream of noise complaints.

We’ve listened to the complaints we felt were fair. Working with Hackney Council, we’ve installed noise limiters and acoustic curtains, among other measures. We’ve also cut our evening opening to three nights a week, dropping Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays (we were already closed on Mondays), which has meant a serious loss of earnings. Despite all this, a small group of residential neighbours has kept on complaining, and there seems to be no room for compromise.

As a result, we’ve now received a Notice of Application to review our licence on the grounds of “prevention of crime and disorder” and “prevention of public nuisance”.

Fighting this review means paying for solicitors, planning consaltunts, preparing evidence and representing ourselves at a licensing hearing, and the costs are quickly getting out of our control. If the review goes against us, we could face tight restrictions on our hours and events, or lose our licence altogether. Because the Store has always been free to enter, we have no ticket income to fall back on. That’s why we need your help to make sure the Store can keep doing what it does best.

How could you help?

The BBE Store has always been free to enter, apart from the odd New Year’s Eve, and it always will be. Our ethos is simple: anyone can come in and enjoy the space. Some of the world’s biggest DJs have played here, and every time it’s been open to the public for free.

Now we’re asking if you could dig into your pockets and donate whatever you can. No amount is too small (or too big!).

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