FABRIC AIMS TO CHANGE LEGISLATION WITH APPEAL FUND DONATIONS
The fund has currently raised over £160k...
fabric issued a transparency statement last night, in which managing director Gary Kilbey has outlined exactly where donations to the Save Our Culture fundraising campaign that they announced last week will be spent. It has currently raised over £160k.
The lengthy statement explains how the first purpose of the appeal is to reopen fabric, but that it also aims to change law and guidance on licensing in order to stop “injustice” happening to venues in the future.
It also states that fabric aim to “set out on a bi-weekly basis a schedule of receipts and payments” of how funds are used during the continued “hibernation” of the club.
“Although fabric is a successful business with financial provisions to cope with extenuating circumstances,” Kilbey writes in the statement, “these simply may not be sufficient to pay for an extensive legal battle and also to keep the club alive until a court hearing.”
He continues that the nature of the wording from Islington Councils decision to revoke the venue’s licence is challenging their anticipated insurance claim, which is adding to the woes of the Farringdon nightspot.
fabric have already appealed to the Magistrates’ Court against Islington Council’s decision to revoke their license, and have enlisted the aid of Philip Kolvin QC to lead their legal team, who they say is widely regarded as the top licensing barrister in the UK.
“Our legal advice is that there are actually eight serious problems with the law and the Home Secretary’s guidance which we have to unpick,” Kilbey continues, before outlining how amendments to these would redress what they perceive as an imbalance between licensees and the authorities. “We will be calling on the Home Secretary to make these changes immediately,” Kilbey states.
Read the full transparency statement here.
Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s deputy digital editor. Follow him on Twitter here.
