Sheffield Leadmill operators and new building owners come to blows over eviction during licence hearing

nme.com:

it was announced that The Leadmill was facing a threat of closure due to its landlord issuing a notice of eviction. The news sparked an outcry from music industry figures and gig-goers alike.The building’s owners, Electric Group, who bought the site’s freehold in 2017, previously told music fans that they had no intention of closing the venue at the end of the current occupiers’ lease in 2023.“The management may change but the song stays the same,” Madden, CEO and co-founder of Electric Group, wrote on Twitter at the time.However, management at The Leadmill claimed they were being “exterminated by the landlord” before launching a fresh appeal online.On Monday (September 18) councillors considered an application for a shadow premises licence – a second licence landlords can obtain for a premises that already operates under one – during the hearing.Per the application, the two licenses “will not operate at the same time” but would allow the landlord “to have his own licence to protect his position should the tenant do anything to put the premises licence in jeopardy”.We've been a part of the Sheffield community for 43 years and we are not ready to say goodbye.

Support us by turning up on Mon 18th September at 9am, Sheffield Town Hall. #wecantloseleadmill pic.twitter.com/7IU6yDBTUJ— The Leadmill (@Leadmill) September 4, 2023As Sheffield newspaper The Star reports, the barrister acting for Mills accused Madden of “arrogance” in his actions because “he knows Elton John“.It is reported that Madden and his solicitor refuted the allegations, saying that the relationship with the Save The Leadmill campaign and Mills as chief objector had become “toxic”.Sarah Clover, barrister for the Leadmill, said: “There is an arrogance that.