An LGBTQ+ pub has announced it will close its doors for the last time this week.
Le Village, in the heart of Brighton’s gay community in Kemp Town, has arranged an “official closing party week” to celebrate its “fabulous few years”.
Lee Cockshott, the co-owner of the venue in High Street, said that it was a “very hard decision” to decide to close the bar and cited “constant complaints” and having its licence restricted as the reason behind the move.
He said: “This is one of the hardest statements I have had to make but the time has come to close Le Village.
“Both me and (co-owner) Simon Ebers have had to make this very hard decision for a number of reasons and some of them have been played out in a very spectacular way in the media, which I am sure a lot of you have seen in recent years.
“Losing hours off our licence at weekends and constant complaints have been the final nail in the Le Village story.”
The pub, formerly the Ranelagh, had its licence reviewed in 2020 after neighbours complained about loud music and antisocial behaviour by customers.
Neighbours expressed concern about noise during the working week, as well as one particularly boisterous Sunday night when a stripper performed at midnight.
Mr Cockshott said: “We would like to thank everyone that has supported us over the years and this week sees our final week, so please come along and support us at some of our final events.”
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The news was greeted with sadness by its patrons, with one taking to Facebook to say: “Le Village was our saviour when we were locked out of being inside a pub and could only sit outdoors.
“I fear with pub prices rising ever higher and people having to fork out hundreds more in mortgage payments and rent increases, there could be more closures in the pipeline.
“The punters are not made of money and something has to give somewhere.”
Le Village’s closing week festivities will start tomorrow with an event hosted by Stephanie Von Clitz, with other events taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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