Change of use? Change of law

The Music Venue Trust's campaign has stepped up a notch with Frank Turner's petition to Culture Secretary Sajid Javid calling for the Agent of Change principle to be adopted into UK law, as it is elsewhere in the world. Under current legislation, buildings adjacent to pre-existing music venues can be transformed into residential accommodation and yet the burden of soundproofing falls on the venues - as was the case for the late, lamented Point in Cardiff, which was bankrupted by the cost of the required work. A farcical and patently unjust situation, and, as Turner explains, the Agent of Change principle is the only sensible and equitable solution if the rights of venues are to be respected.