Why our spaces close, and what keeps them open.

Four pieces in. What we've learnt.

1. People didn't stop wanting queer spaces. London had 127 LGBTQ+ venues in 2006 and has 64 today. Most closed because a room that only earns a few hours a night can't survive a rent review, not because the crowd went away. Piece one
2. The community is rebuilding around doing things together. Courts, parks, gym classes and borrowed rooms. Yet none of the 49 London LGBTQ+ sports clubs that publish a venue has a clubhouse of its own. Piece three
3. What helps is the same people, every week. A gym is somewhere you go and then leave. Clubs give you a reason to keep turning up. Piece two
4. The pressure to look the part is real, and so is the loneliness. Gay and lesbian adults in England are almost twice as likely to feel lonely often or always as straight adults. Piece three
5. Most new spaces open on someone else's terms. A developer, a council levy, a pub lease or a members' club bar, while grants for LGBTQ+ causes shrink. Piece four
6. So we're building a home that pays for itself. Somewhere that earns from morning to night, with independent LGBTQ+ founders under one roof. Piece four