The couple behind Nottingham's popular jazz club Peggy's Skylight are fighting to save the venue after it was revealed that the property could be sold. Rachel Foster and Paul Deats opened the intimate club in 2018 in George Street, Hockley, and have gone on to achieve great acclaim, winning Jazz Venue of the Year in 2021.
Last November they learnt out of the blue that owners Nottingham City Council were putting the building up for sale but declined to speak out at the time for fear it could damage the business. But now they've gone public, with a petition calling on the local authority to delay the proposed auction on February 23 to give them chance to raise the funds to buy the three-storey site.
Officials at the city council confirmed they were considering putting the property up for auction in February. But after completing the due diligence process the council said some legal issues needed to be resolved.
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It means that while the property will not go to auction next month, the council still intends to take it to market in the future. The authority says this would give the tenants more time to raise the necessary cash.
However, despite having a 10-year lease Ms Foster and Mr Deats say there's no certainty on what a new landlord might mean for Peggy's future. In a previous statement they said: "We want the council to offer business owners a fair chance to raise funds to purchase the property themselves, in order to ensure that we can keep enjoying world class live music in the heart of Nottingham."
At the time of writing more than 6,700 people had signed the petition. The venue, which also serves a Middle Eastern inspired menu, has welcomed local, national and international musicians and vocalists.
The building consists of the ground with the stage and bar, upstairs are toilets and offices, and a basement which they had plans for. Mr Deats said they were in the dark about how much they would need to raise as no guide price for the property has been revealed. "The council wouldn't share that with us. We are looking at all sorts of lending or some kind benefactor," he said.
"It's really stressful and worrying and we are trying to get over feelings of anger and channelling that energy into doing everything to fight it. If we could own the building we would be in a great position. We're trying to view it as an opportunity brought about by crisis."
The petition has been started by well-wisher Belinda Harris, who described Peggy's as "a important cultural and community asset to the city". It called on the council to delay the auction for six months for the founders to source funding. They are currently pursuing ‘Asset of Community Value’ status, which has been granted to pubs in the past, allowing communities to band together to raise the funds to take ownership.
The statement continued: "It is understood that the council faces a significant financial challenge at present, and cannot set a precedent by cancelling one sale, yet letting others go ahead. However, Peggy’s is not a shop, office or bar that can be relatively easily relocated.
"Rather, it has been designed to serve the purpose of presenting live music to a dining audience, with state of the art sound system, vintage cinema seating, which has all been tailored to this unique space. ‘Asset of Community Value’ status is a way that the council could officially recognise Peggy’s Skylight for what it provides for the community, without prejudice to any of the council’s other proposed property sales."
Ms Foster and Mr Deats have met with Nottingham South Labour MP Lilian Greenwood, who put their case to city council leader Coun David Mellen and, on Friday (January 13), they are set to speak to Sajeeda Rose, the council's corporate director for growth and city development.
Jazz fans are furious, accusing the council of short-sightedness. One of them Lisa Cherry-Downes said: "Peggy's is one of the classiest small music venues in the country and a hugely valuable resource for both musicians nationally and internationally and lovers of top quality music in Nottingham.
"The owners there have obviously put their heart and soul into what is a fantasic performance space and for the city council not to consider that and blithely go ahead and sell off the building without a care to destiny of the current leaseholders shows that increasingly that yet again it cannot be trusted to make decisions for the good of the city and its cultural offer.
"For city centres to survive the onslaught of current retail closures, independent operators like Peggy's are vital to sustain the vibrancy of the city's night time economy. It is hard to imagine a decision more short sighted than to rush the property to auction without at least giving Peggy's more time to acquire the finance needed to buy the building. Whoever made this decision needs to look again and have a serious rethink."
The resolution to sell the building was formally made in a city council delegated decision. A council report declared it was "surplus to the trading account," and added: "No alternative operational, regeneration, community or other requirements have been identified."
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It comes at a time when the city council continues to work to balance its books in a bid to avoid Government intervention. Reviewing all council-owned assets was one of the key priorities of the Together for Nottingham Plan, set out last year. The plan was drawn up to to address the "seriousness of the financial, governance and operational challenges" faced by the council in the wake of problems including the collapse of Robin Hood Energy.
The city council said last year that it had managed to reduce its £1.2 billion debt by £200 million and that it hoped to raise more than £93 million from the sale of its assets.
Councillor David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “Like all councils, we need to review buildings and assets we own to decide whether there is a benefit in retaining them or if a sale may be preferable to release funding to support vital services. Due to years of underfunding by the Government, we have to consider the sale of buildings owned by the council and we have a duty to get the best price possible on behalf of local taxpayers. An open auction is a way to achieve that.
“The building occupied by Peggy’s Skylight is one of a number of properties we were considering for auction in February, but in completing our due diligence process we have some outstanding legal issues needing to be resolved. Because of that we are now able to confirm that this property will not be going to auction in February. While it is still our intention to take it to market in the future this should give more time for the tenants, as requested in their petition.
“Tenants within any buildings we sell are generally protected by the landlord and tenant act meaning there is no immediate risk to tenants, for example in this case we know that there is an ongoing lease in place. We do though understand the uncertainty this potentially causes in the longer term.
“We want to support local venues and businesses as much as possible recognising that due to the pandemic and the current economic climate, it has been a difficult couple of years. The changes we have introduced around the Hockley area have helped build its national reputation as one of the most vibrant city centre neighbourhoods and a great place to visit.”
Other assets which the city council has sold include a building in Upper Parliament Street, let to the city's oldest adult shop, and a building in Castle Boulevard which had housed a gym since the 1980s.
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