Kentish Town Forum
‘The Church’ – a regular Sunday drinking event hosted at The Forum – will move at the end of 2009. In a meeting with local residents last night Steve Foster, the managing director, announced that from January next year the event will move to the Clapham Grand.
Residents and local councillors have campaigned to have the event moved ever since it came to The Forum several years ago. The Sunday drinking session, running from about 10am to 4pm, brings a lot of colour to Kentish Town – but it’s also been a regular nuisance and cause of low level anti-social behaviour. So the move is good news for Kentish Town!
There was more good news: following a £1.5 million refurbishment of the interior Steve now plans £250,000 or so of work to the art deco interior – the stained glass will be restored to its former glory and the front cleaned.
It is good to see a local venue sticking to it’s word. Back when residents met with The Forum when The Church started up the promise was that the event was going to help pay for the improvements and the long term plan was to focus on live music. That seems to be what’s happening now – with The Forum planning to increase the number of live nights next year.
Steve has taken a big financial hit to make this happen with The Church worth about a quarter of a million pounds a year. But The Forum has the potential to be Kentish Town’s Roundhouse, and whilst it’s heading in that direction I think the management deserves some support – as well as thanks for a promise kept.
