Potential for Printworks London to reopen by 2026

Printworks London, the 6,000-capacity nightclub, may reopen by 2026 after property developers that own the site filed plans to Southwark Council.

The developer British Land and its partner AustralianSuper submitted a proposal to the local authority to redevelop the site in Rotherhithe into a permanent cultural venue just over a year after the club closed down.

The pair are in talks with electronic music and arts operator Broadwick, which ran Printworks, to operate a new venue.

It would occupy one half of the existing venue while the other half is planned to be turned into offices for 1,500 workers and shops. Planning permission is hoped to be granted within a few months.

“What appeals to us about it is that it’s creating a new piece of city and a new district for London,” said Emma Cariaga, who is jointly leading the project for British Land, as reported by The Guardian.

“We intend to create a permanent cultural venue and put it on the map globally. Over the last six years, Printworks has become an iconic venue for electronic music and one of the top five clubs in the world. But our plans seek to push that to deliver a much broader programme.”

The redevelopment forms part of British Land and AustralianSuper’s £6bn ($7.5bn/€7bn) project across 53 acres opposite the Canary Wharf financial district.

Construction for 40 buildings is planned, with up to 3,000 new homes and offices with space for 20,000 new workers.

Architect Hawkins/Brown is seeking to preserve the original industrial look of the venue, while British Land intends to salvage as much of the original printing equipment as possible from the building which was constructed in the 1980s by the Daily Mail Group.

The developer also plans to add a rooftop terrace to the building as well as new suites for meetings and conferences.

“Having a big, versatile cultural venue in the area is important,” said Paul Clark, AustralianSuper’s head of real assets in Europe.

“We don’t want to have a monochrome office environment or a dormitory suburb.”

Before it closed down last year, Printworks was named the second-best music venue in the world in a study by DJ Tech Review, second only to Manchester’s Warehouse Project.