This beloved Hackney venue is at risk of closure
The Bath House in Hackney Wick could be forced to close following a Hackney Council decision to end its lease.
Sat inside the restored Victorian baths at 80 Eastway, the multi-use, not-for-profit space is a regular host of one of Time Out's top nights out in London, Giant Steps. But it's a lot more than that. The Bath House is home to a cafe, bar and multiple events spaces and studios where people go for things like community-led life drawing classes, ice bath sessions, craft workshops and live music of almost every kind. It describes itself as 'a local institution, fuelled by care and collectivism'.
Now, the Bath House has launched a petition calling on local leaders to intervene in the council's plan. It says that it was made without due process.
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On its website, the Bath House wrote: 'This is about more than a building—it's about who gets to shape our cities. The Bath House stands as a living model of what's possible when local people are empowered to lead: a self-sustaining civic hub generating not just public benefit, but deep social wealth.'
At the time of writing, the petition has gathered nearly 4,000 signatures. One signatory said 'I regularly come to London from Oxford just for the ecstatic dances at the Bath House. This community saved me and is a wonderful, healing, fantastic gem,' while another commented 'I can't imagine life without this space. It's been a home and a family for years now. It's an incredibly special places is so central to so many of our community'.
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