The landlord of The Leadmill has hit back at his tenant’s “ludicrous” ‘Save the Leadmill’ campaign, in comments to Forge Press.
CEO of Electric Group, the company who bought the building in 2017, Dominic Madden described it as “an attempt to poison the well”.
The current dispute dates to March 2022, when Phil Mills, head tennant of the venue, was served an eviction notice by Electric that required him to leave the premises by Spring 2023, when his lease was scheduled to expire.
This sparked the “Save the Leadmill” campaign. Leaflets were made, a website sprung up and special performances were put on.
Mr Madden would argue the entire basis of the campaign is flawed, because, in his mind, the Leadmill isn’t going anywhere:
“Our ambition for the venue is that we intend to take it over, improve dressing rooms and access, it will continue to be run by a pretty much local team and its programming policy – gigs, some club events and community projects – will be the same. We want a seamless transition.”
“I bought the leadmill from a developer who wanted to knock the building down”
South-London based Electric Group are music venue operators, who own Electric in Brixton, Bristol’s SWX and Newcastle’s NX.
Mr Madden said: “Save the Leadmill from what? From a music venue operator that runs some very good venues around the country and wants to run it as a music venue.”
In fact, Mr Madden
maintains that he’s the reason the Leadmill is still operating, saying:
“I bought the Leadmill from a developer who wanted to knock the building down and turn it into a residential scheme.
“That was on the table at the time, turning it into student apartments.”
“I’ve saved venues,” he remarks to those who see him as a threat to the venue. “People need to get their stories straight because they are not making any sense.”
The Leadmill declined to comment on the arguments raised above.
Leadmill offers payment to protest council meeting:
The bosses of the Leadmill have offered supporters £40 each to protest a Sheffield City Council meeting of significance for the venue’s future.
In the Google form they used to sign supporters up, they promised payment for attending the ‘rally’, and for committing to one social media post beforehand, to promote the event, and one during it.
A two-day hearing began on the 18th September to decide the outcome of an application made by Electric Group for a shadow premises license.
If granted, Dominic Madden’s company would be able to run the venue without uncertainty over the current tenant’s license disrupting operations.
Mr Madden said: “Save the Leadmill resorting to renting a crowd outside Sheffield is a clear indication that public interest in their campaign is waning.”
The Leadmill responded by accusing Electric Group of “using a loophole in the law to force The Leadmill out of business” in applying for the shadow license.
In reference to the payment, they said that “we are encouraging the Leadmill’s supporters to attend a rally outside.
“We have teamed up with Gosh to ensure the rally is professionally and safely managed by some of their team outside.
“Gosh are a company that we use regularly, and we have a strong relationship with.
They are obviously being paid for their time.”
‘Save the Leadmill’ run “disingenuous” online campaign:
Mr Madden has further accused Leadmill bosses of “straying over the boundaries of acceptable behaviour” with their attempts at taking their campaign online.
He criticised the ‘TellTom’ campaign, which was an attempt to get supportive social media users to lobby the Leader of Sheffield City Council, Tom Hunt, on their behalf. He dismissed it as “disingenuous nonsense” due to Hunt being “legally obliged not to comment on license applications.”
For the London-based CEO, the dispute got personal with the launch of the “Stop Dominic Madden” website. Topped by his photo, it lists a series of incidents that they allege to have occurred in other Electric Group venues. These range in severity from technical issues with digital equipment to stabbings and sexual assault.
The Leadmill refused to comment on the website.
Mr Madden believes these tactics are desperate measures, and simply “different ways to keep the flagging campaign going.”
He directs people “to investigate my background, which is working in not-for-profit arts spaces, theatre and music” where he believes they’ll discover he’s not some “spineless Southern chancer”, but rather a potential owner who “has the perfect CV to run a regional music venue”.
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