One of Sheffield’s most distinctive grassroots cultural spaces could be set for a more secure future, as DIY venue Gut Level becomes part of a national movement to protect independent music and community spaces.
The queer-led community venue on Chapel Walk is one of several venues included in Music Venue Properties’ (MVP) latest Own Our Venues initiative, which seeks to remove grassroots venues from vulnerable commercial leases and place them into community ownership. The project aims to provide long-term stability for venues that play an important role in local music and cultural communities.
Gut Level joins venues including Northern Guitars in Leeds and Little Buildings in Newcastle as part of the latest phase of the scheme. Music Venue Properties hopes to raise £1.5m through community investment to secure the future of participating venues.
Speaking to the BBC, Gut Level founder Frazer Scott said the organisation had already been exploring ways to purchase the building independently.
“We were exploring the idea of setting up a community benefit society ourselves to try to purchase the building,” he said.
“Our timeline was going to be four years to try and purchase the building, which was just a bit longer than the current lease term we’re on.”
However, Scott said those plans accelerated after discussions with the landlord.
“After thinking about it, the landlord came back to us and said he wanted to sell immediately, so it really scuppered our plans.”
Music Venue Properties says the Own Our Venues model helps venues become less reliant on landlords while protecting them from unsustainable rent increases and uncertainty around future ownership. More than 90% of grassroots music venues in the UK operate as tenants, leaving many vulnerable to closure or redevelopment.
Since launching in 2022, the Own Our Venues initiative has raised millions of pounds to secure venues across the UK, creating what organisers describe as a long-term solution for protecting independent cultural spaces.
Gut Level moved into its current Chapel Walk premises in 2024 after a major fundraising effort. The not-for-profit venue has since become a key part of Sheffield’s independent cultural landscape, hosting music events and community-focused programming while providing space for underrepresented groups within the city’s nightlife and creative scenes.
Reflecting on the outcome, Scott said the community ownership model offers a level of stability that would have been difficult to achieve through a traditional tenancy arrangement.
“Now we have long-term stability and a supportive landlord, via an ownership mechanism that has community interest and co-operative principles baked into its legal structure. It’s a perfect result.”
For Scott and the wider Gut Level team, community ownership represents an opportunity to secure the venue’s future while continuing to support Sheffield’s grassroots music culture and creative communities for years to come.
