Ministry of Sound wins backing of stars for campaign

Stars from the music industry have joined a campaign to save a famous central London nightclub.

The Ministry of Sound in Elephant and Castle is trying to stop the building of a block of flats nearby because club bosses fear noise complaints could force the venue's closure.

Judge Jules, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim, Calvin Harris and Example are supporting the club.

London's mayor is due to decide on 26 February whether to approve the scheme.

Boris Johnson stepped in to adjudicate on the planning application after Southwark Council refused planning permission.

A spokesman for the developer Oakmayne said a "well-run and responsible club" could "perfectly well co-exist" with the new homes.

Dance music star Example said: "If we don't stand up and save it, we will lose the true home of British dance music."

Lohan Presencer, chief executive of Ministry of Sound, said: "There is no doubt whatsoever that the proposed scheme makes it very likely we will be forced to close."

He said it would be "disastrous for London".

In his role in making strategic planning decisions for London, the mayor can take over an application for his own determination.

He will hold a public hearing at City Hall before deciding whether or not to grant planning permission.

Southwark Council said the plans were refused on the grounds of failing to meet affordable housing needs.

Oakmayne wants to build 255 apartments and 80 affordable homes on the Eileen House site in Newington Causeway.

A spokesman from the company said: "The Ministry of Sound's campaign to "save our club" is based on a fundamentally false and deliberately misleading premise.

"We have continually repeated that the much-needed new homes and offices planned for the Eileen House site can perfectly well co-exist with a well-run and responsible club.

"We have taken every possible step in submitting our planning application to ensure that this can be the case, and the Eileen House scheme has been designed to fully accommodate its neighbours.

"It is not, and has never been, a question of one or the other. The Ministry is fully aware of this, but chooses to ignore it."

He said a new 22-storey residential development was being built "even closer" to the club than the proposed Eileen House scheme.