A Long Read - why catch a coffee or a wine and put your feet up for this one. Dear all, Well, a milestone has been reached. 3 Years of closure of OUR Black Cap Pub. That the Pub exists untouched today, cold, empty, and unvisited, should actually be regarded as a major success, because it is YOUR Campaigning strength and numbers that has led us here. Here's the overarching threat campaigners have successfully fought to date and described by University of Central London: From the UCL July 2017 Report: LGBTQ+ Cultural Infrastructure in London: Night Venues, 2006–present "High-profile cases such as The Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Black Cap demonstrate how a lack of transparency about financial arrangements and lines of ownership pose significant risks for operators and community members in negotiating for spaces to remain open, or to be reopened when already closed." Well, as you know, we have now built a track record of finding, exposing, and challenging the Black Cap dark money sources, and on this third remortgaging attempt by the other side, will now confidently do so again. Here's the lo-o-ong Press Release sent to London's media today (You have that coffee or wine..?!). It is robust, uplifting, and determined. It spells out the facts, and it tells you about two fun events to look forward to. And most of all, this is a Press Release for and on behalf of a very large campaign group, determined to win and have The Black Cap re-opened for the LGBTQ+ Community! Enjoy the read - and let us all keep campaigning. ______________________________________________ THE EMPTY AND BOARDED UP BLACK CAP IS AN INSULT TO CAMDEN & THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY Campaigners who are trying to save and reopen the iconic Black Cap pub in the heart of Camden town are angry and feel that its continued closure after three years is an insult to the people of Camden, and in particular the LGBTQ+ community in the area who for nearly 60 years had called the pub a safe place and centre of popular entertainment. - It’s an insult that this beautiful historic building in central Camden is being left to decay, covered in weeds and graffiti. - It’s an insult that the owner can use hidden foreign investment funding (with loopholes and offshore companies hiding the source of their money) can hold to control the fate of one of the jewels of Camden town’s High Street, leaving it under threat by keeping it empty rather than returning it to the community, but a British property buyer has to prove where every penny of their funding has legally come from before buying. - It’s an insult that a thriving, successful anchor business in the heart of Camden Town, one of UK’s biggest tourist draws, has been suppressed in pursuit of a speculative luxury residential development plan that it’s increasingly clear will never happen. - It’s an insult to the LGBTQ+ community who, for almost 60 years, had called the Black Cap its home and a place of safety, entertainment and culture, and a place where they could welcome and interact with the wider community on their own terms. - It’s an insult that the Borough of Camden, which has long held the accolade of being a gold star champion of diversity, arts and culture now only has one small venue for its large LGBTQ+ population and its allies amongst the 1,400 Camden-licenced premises. The purchase and closure of the Black Cap was part of three trends: the fashion for asset-stripping local pubs and turning them into luxury flats and / or food outlets, the influx of suspicious offshore wealth buying up London property, and the loss of nearly 60% of London’s LGBTQ+ nightlife spaces. In 2018 those tides are turning. Pubs are increasingly being saved from developers (e.g. the Oxford Tavern and the Good Mixer). Shadowy offshore property deals are being questioned and challenged (e.g. by Transparency International and recently Owen Jones in the Guardian). While new LGBTQ+ venues are beginning to appear in London (e.g. the new Circa club in Embankment, the AZ Hub, and a future revived Joiners Arms). More than ever, the Black Cap’s continued closure is an embarrassment to Camden and it is time to put an end to it. So far the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign has successfully: - Gained Asset of Community Value (ACV) status, kept its special ‘Sui Generis i.e. of its own kind’ business status. - Won enhanced planning protections, and thwarted a series of attempts to redevelop it. - Secured over 10,700 signatures on the petition to save and reopen our pub and 2.500 following on social media - Exposed the Russian government-linked billionaires behind the original purchase of the pub, - Engaged closely with with the owner to find a new leaseholder, but those efforts have been frustrated by the owner’s obstructive and unprofessional conduct. - Recently identified the offshore mortgage lenders currently pouring money into keeping the Black Cap closed The campaign's focus now is to finally restore the Black Cap to its place at the heart of Camden’s diverse and exciting cultural economy. We will: - Bring the actual pub mortgage lenders to the negotiating table, while also renewing our engagement with Camden Council and City Hall - Build a consortium of community and business partners who will push to take over the pub for the Camden and the LGBTQ+ community. - Continue to protest and campaign until the pub is reopened as a LGBTQ+ performance venue: This Saturday 14th April, 2-4pm, as we still can’t perform inside, singers and supporters will perform songs and tributes to celebrate the past and future of the legendary Black Cap which has been a cultural home to LGBTQ+ community and its allies for 60 years. Regular Saturday protest vigils will continue with the new campaign theme, ‘I am the Black Cap’ - to highlight the many reasons why people all over London and the world love the Black Cap and want it back On 2nd May we are staging a fabulous night of LGBTQ+ cabaret at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to show what a night at a resurrected Black Cap could be like (details: http://www.vauxhalltavern.com/events/event/not-another-night-at-the-cap/?oid=1930). Alex Green, #WeAreTheBlackCap spokesperson said: “We stand firm, despite the continued frustration of trying to work with the owners to get the legendary and important LGBTQ+ performance venue and stop the Black Cap becoming yet another sterile, overpriced food outlet and unaffordable flats. The continued closure of this flagship LGBTQ+ venue is very bad for the Borough of Camden’s reputation as a leader in terms of diversity, arts and culture.” #Hashtags for the event are: #savetheblackcap and #IamtheBlackCap #LessFlatsMoreHeels - end - ______________________________________________ So we look forward to the press coverage later this week. And a reminder again - our 3rd Anniversary Protest: This is being held outside the pub on Saturday 14th April 2018, between 2pm and 4pm. Details are: #WeAreTheBlackCap CAMPAIGN 3rd ANNIVERSARY PROTEST 14th April 2018, 2-4pm. Outside The Black Cap, 171 Camden High Street, CAMDEN TOWN, LONDON. See you there, and thank you all for so much you do. It really makes a powerful difference, and as you can see, we are not going anywhere until the Pub is re-opened, and we are confident we will win. With best wishes. Chris Clark Program Director Black Cap Foundation