Friends of the Joiners Arms Victory

Article about gay London in QX magazine.

Tower Hamlets Council has upheld the Asset of Community Value Status for the Joiners Arms.

 


Despite attempts by the current owners to revoke The Joiners Arms pub’s Asset of Community Value (ACV) status, it has been upheld by Tower Hamlets Council. The pub’s current owners Robobond LTD, appealed against the council’s decision to award East London’s favourite queer club ACV, as they claimed the building did not further the ‘social wellbeing or social interests of the local community’ and that realistically, it would not for the next five years.

As a campaign group, Friends of the Joiners Arms (FOTJA) is made up of mainly Tower Hamlets residents and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA. With weekly campaign meetings attracting on average 30-40 people, over 1,200 individuals signed up to the campaigns online petitions, and over 6,000 liking the community page on Facebook, FOTJA challenged the notion that the current owners are best placed to decide if the Joiners Arms furthered the social wellbeing or interests of the local community.

“This decision by Tower Hamlets Council reflects the importance of people standing together and fighting for what they believe in.”

FOTJA has recently joined other campaigns to fight against rapid and ruthless gentrification in London. They support campaigns fighting to protect social housing, such as Focus E15 Mothers and Sweets Way Resists, and campaigns that aim to prevent closure of queer and iconic spaces, such as The Black Cap, the Yard, 12 Bar and Tin Pan Alley.

‘We’re over the moon that our ACV status has been upheld,’ said Amy Roberts, Friends of the Joiners Arms Co-Chair. ‘It’s great to know that Tower Hamlets council recognizes the ongoing struggles of LGBTQIA peoples and how places like the Joiners help the social wellbeing of this community.’

Jon Ward, Friends of the Joiners Arms Co-Chair, added: ‘It’s a fantastic result to have our ACV status upheld. This decision by Tower Hamlets Council reflects the importance of people standing together and fighting for what they believe in – it’s incredibly empowering to know that our LGBTQIA community has secured another victory in defeating this latest challenge to the spaces, which provide us with joy and benefit.’

With the building, the group intends to transform The Joiners Arms into London’s only cooperatively owned and managed LGBTQI Community Centre, while maintaining its functions as a pub with late license. This will be a space that provides vital facilities and support to all LGBTQIA individuals and allies who wish to stand up for minority communities, support one another, and proactively engage in building a future free of hate and insecurity.

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