Judge rules on future of famous city venue

A judge has ruled the tenants of The Leadmill music venue in Sheffield must leave the premises.

Electric Group, the owners of the much-loved 900-capacity building, served an eviction notice on their tenants, The Leadmill Ltd, in March 2022 and plan to run the business themselves.

Both sides had been locked in a long-running legal battle to determine who should operate the venue, with the case heard at the The Business and Property Courts in Leeds in December.

His Honour Justice Sir Alastair Norris ruled in favour of the Electric Group on Wednesday, meaning The Leadmill Ltd has three months and 21 days to leave the site. The Leadmill said it was seeking legal advice over its next steps.

The venue opened in 1980 and has played host to the likes of Oasis, Coldplay and Sheffield's own Arctic Monkeys.

A plaque on the building marks Pulp's first ever gig, which was at The Leadmill in August 1980.

The Leadmill Ltd owns the trademark for the venue's name, meaning the site, on Leadmill Road, will likely be renamed under the Electric Group.

In his ruling, Justice Norris said the "present intention" was to rebrand the famous venue as SK 35. The significance of the name was not clarified and the BBC has asked Electric Group for comment.

An Electric Group spokesperson said the judge's decision "paves the way for a bright future for this venue, ensuring it will receive the substantial investment it needs to thrive".

"It will continue to be a cornerstone of the live music scene in Sheffield, supporting artists, fans, and community projects for the next 100 years."

Electric Group also runs Electric Brixton in London and venues in Bristol and Newcastle.

Boss Dominic Madden told the eviction hearing that under his ownership the venue "will be a slightly more polished, probably modernised, version of the same thing".

"It will still be hosting concerts and nightclub events [but] it's different insofar as it's plugged into a national network of music venues."

Mr Madden said the venue could be operational under his ownership by September - a claim disputed by The Leadmill.

Lawyers acting on behalf of The Leadmill claimed the cost of a refurbishment would be up to £4.1m, money they said Mr Madden could not prove he had.

Mr Madden's legal team estimated the cost of the works to be just over £2m, a claim Justice Norris concluded was "more coherent and more consistent" than that of The Leadmill, and one they could afford.

He also said there was "no need" to believe the work would take longer than the 35 weeks estimated by Electric Group.

The judge rejected an argument that it would be a violation of the Human Rights Act - protecting a person's right to property - if Electric Group was to be allowed to "exploit" the "good will" built up by the current management by running the venue in "precisely the same way".

"There is nothing peculiar to music venues," he said.

In a statement, The Leadmill said they were "actively consulting with our legal advisers to assess our next steps".

"We remain committed to exhausting every possible legal avenue to secure our future, retain our staff and protect our venue."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.