Shutting the Lights: How Urban Development Could End a Beloved Charity Club Night
As Freshers’ approaches, Leeds student nightlife wakes up from its summer slumber and venues start coming back to life. There’s no shortage of events in Leeds, but one that’s not to be missed is Cosmic Slop, a regular night for all those who love funk and vinyl.
Cosmic Slop is the regular fundraising event for MAP Charity, which supports and provides education to young people aged 11 to 16 at risk of exclusion from mainstream schooling. The charity offers music and arts qualification for these children in the Grade II listed Hope Foundry just south of Leeds city centre. The venue, which is also home to Cosmic Slop, hosts local DJs and creatives, putting on musical events throughout the year aided by their bespoke custom-built sound system. 100% of profits from such events go towards the running of MAP Charity, ensuring they can continue to provide creative education to local young people.
However recent planning permission put forward by Global Investment fund Cheyne Capital is putting these nights at risk. The plans include building 310 flats next door to the Grade II listed Hope Foundry which houses Cosmic Slop, with balconies overlooking the courtyard. This courtyard is an integral part of both the daily running of MAP education, providing vital outdoor space to students, and to Cosmic Slop itself. The space has proven popular for Slop-goers on such nights, acting as a space for fresh air and expansion outside of the walls of the Hope Foundry. This development of onlooking balconies opens up the door for potential noise complaints from future residents which, in turn, threaten the very future of Cosmic Slop and its accompanying events.
Outline permission for this development has already been granted, however the specifics – including these balconies – are to be determined in the coming weeks.
The team at Cosmic Slop and MAP Charity are working to alter the planning permission in its current state as the balconies pose a significant threat to the future of Cosmic Slop and, in turn, MAP Charity. Their petition calls for a Deed of Easement between the developer and venue which allows for noise to be made within certain parameters without fear of complaints. The team are also calling for the balconies overlooking Hope House to be abandoned and replaced with a brick wall; and for the planning department to review the wider implications of what this application means for the Grade II listed building, the historical character of the area, and the provision of a safe space for the charity’s service users use of the courtyard.
Speaking to the Gryphon, Will from the team at Cosmic Slop emphasises the threat this planning permission poses.
“We run Cosmic Slop to fundraise for MAP Charity and their education program. It’s important for us to show the students who are at risk of mainstream education, an alternative pathway to work via the creative industry. Our current campaign is set up to oppose development plans which include balconies that overlook not only the outdoor area for our events, but the Charity’s school provision. This area is a safe space for our students and we really want to keep the classrooms out of sight as it can be easy for some of the students to get distracted.
Our petition has had the support of many international artists such as Four Tet, Floating Points, Mafalda, Charlie Dark, Coco Maria, plus many more who have donated their time and effort to DJ at Cosmic Slop, helping us fundraise for the Charity. We hope to continue to run our events in the years to come, just as we have over the past 14 years. If these balconies go forwards, it’s likely we will receive noise complaints that affect our operations.”
This threat to Cosmic Slop highlights the start of a disturbing pattern in Leeds, as new building developments continue to threaten the local arts scene. Just last year local music venue Sheaf Street shut its doors for good after six years, citing the rising cost-of-living and local developments as main causes, as new construction dramatically decreased foot traffic in front of the venue. And so it begs the question – is the biggest threat to local arts in fact these new building developments?
Nights out in Leeds are not hard to come by, but Cosmic Slop is a unique gem in the local arts scene, providing both a space for funk and vinyl lovers and essential fundraising to MAP Charity. To save Cosmic Slop, and in turn MAP Charity, head to cosmicslop.org to sign the petition.
