A petition to save Brixton Academy has received thousands of signatures as the venue’s future remains in the balance.
A crush at an Asake gig in December claimed the lives of Gabrielle Hutchinson, 23, a security worker, and mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, also leaving a third person critically injured.
The petition, launched by Stuart O’Brien, has received 10,805 signatures at the time of writing on Friday lunchtime in order to help protect the future of the “iconic London music venue”.
Although acknowledging the tragedy which took place, the petition calls for fresh security measures to be brought in to make the venue safer going forward.
Mr O’Brien writes: “I personally have been to hundreds of gigs in my lifetime, many of them here and I have never once felt like safety was an issue!
“The loss of this venue would also have a devastating effect on the local economy!”
In January the venue’s operator the Academy Music Group (AMG) had their licence for the venue suspended for at least three months.
On April 17, the Met Police said it had “lost confidence” in AMG and urged Lambeth Council to permanently revoke the licence.
AMG has submitted its own application for variation of their licence which was dated March 22.
Previously the council held a meeting to discuss the venue’s licence and called for AMG to provide an amended application.
The next meeting is due to be held on May 15 and councillors may choose to ignore the recommendation of Scotland Yard.
Previously a Lambeth Council spokesperson told the Standard: “In January the sub-committee imposed a condition requiring the venue to cease all licensable activities pending it submitting a variation application – and the council granting that application.
“The operators of the O2 Academy Brixton were required at that last meeting to come up with workable changes to their licence in a way that fully addresses police concerns about the venue’s operations, and ensure no repeat of the tragic events of 15 December, via that variation application.
“The variation application has been made, and will be considered at a Licensing Sub-Committee on a date that will be confirmed shortly. The O2 Academy Brixton’s will not be able to carry out any licensable activities until after that meeting at the earliest.
“On April 14 an application to review the O2 Academy Brixton’s licence was submitted by the Met Police. That application is now subject to a statutory consultation period.
“As a result there are currently there are two outstanding applications in relation to the venue, the licence variation and the licence review. Lambeth Council will consider both in due course.”
Academy Music Group also told the Standard: ““Academy Music Group has co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council since the tragedy at Brixton occurred.
“We have had regular meetings and discussions with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council at which we have presented detailed proposals that we believe will enable the venue to reopen safely.
“AMG has been awaiting feedback on those proposals for several weeks and looks forward to hearing from the police as soon as possible in constructive terms. The review of our licence will take place through the formal process with Lambeth Council in due course.”
A health and safety review is also being held by Lambeth Council, led by former chief executive Paul Martin.
Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Asake had been scheduled to perform on the evening of December 15 in the last of three shows in London that week before the chaotic scenes unfolded.
At an earlier hearing, Lambeth councillors were told that a large crowd formed in front of the venue, forcing staff to close the doors in the lead-up to the crush.
