GUT LEVEL NEW SPACE BUILD EMERGENCY CRUNCHTIME!
Donation protected
We need your help!
We are so nearly there. It's been 6 months of build time with more additional costs and work than anyone ever thought going into this project. It is the classic tale of building works (double the cost and double the time is what we now keep hearing!)
If you subscribe to our newsletter you will have been getting regular updates as the project has been going along. You will have heard all the stories of insulation, new ceilings, insane amounts of fire safety bits, shit filled pipes, new widemode stairs (resulting in complete rip out and redesign upstairs), painful building control/architect communications, additional accessibility works and more!
A visit from environmental health and the police in mid Feb has added on extra unknown work in order to get our licence approved including a ventilation system, CCTV, extra urinals to get the capacity needed (archaic guidance around gendered toilets means gender neutral loos don't get your far, but of course we aren't budging on that!)
With delays on site we have also got business rates that are due, we will qualify for 75% off rates when we are open due to the hospitality subsidy scheme but annoyingly this only comes into play when we are open, until then it is full whack!
We have applied for several overdrafts & loans but unfortunately were rejected from multiple lenders, the bankers don't rate what we’re doing it seems! We have one loan offer but the interest rate is so high we will be paying double back. We want to avoid this so we can keep costs as low as possible for you all when we're open.
However, thanks to very kind donations, people giving their music for the comp, DJing and dancing at fundraising events, and a very generous loan from a special angel we are not far off the total needed to get us over the line, but as the very final stages commence we are £10,000 short.
This £10,000 is needed to cover:
- Additional plumbing works required to get us to capacity - £1000
- CCTV - £600
- Ventilation install - £1000
- Fire doors - £700
- Building work labour costs - £1500
- Furnishings and fit out - chairs, benches, glasses and other bar bits, signage - £1500
- Initial stock to get going - £3480
- Business Rates - £1961
We are cutting costs wherever possible and have accepted the space will be a work in progress but we need this final 10k to get us open so we can all start enjoying the space and begin to balance the books again, helping to ensure we are here for a good and long time!!
It has been a stressful 6 months. The Gut Level build has pulled many into its orbit, everyone is doing what they can to help the space get open and it is appreciated so much.
It really is crunch time now! We are aiming for a 22nd March opening date. We have a week to raise this cash - so send this far and wide to anyone you think may want to support the cause.
A lil reminder of the cause:
Cute and sexy not-for-profit DIY space for the queers, angels and party freaks!
- Centring the experiences of queer people, women and gender minorities
- Accessible community and creative space
- A place for subversive and progressive culture
- Somewhere to meet, learn and organise
- A place for community group and activist meet-ups
Bar & music venue
- Cheap as pos space to socialise, sup and listen to music
- Music events and parties platforming local, emerging and underrepresented artists
- Somewhere affordable for grassroots promoters to put on events
Roof terrace & community garden
- A new home for Wet Patch community garden project
- Space to socialise and relax outside
- A place to enjoy plants/green space
More details of the build journey and link to our previous fundraiser for this project here.
Organizer
Katie Matthews
Organizer