Save SILO SE8 Studio

Silo SE8 music collective have been operating out of a railway arch in Deptford for many years, but like many other arch users are facing increasing rents following the transfer of railway arches from National Rail to private landlord the Arch Company. Facing a big bill for a backdated rent increase they have launched a crowdfunder to raise funds. They say:

'Silo SE8 Musicians Collective is a non profit organisation that morphed out of the South East London Musicians Collective (SELMC) in the 1980s. Founding members Rabbit and The Balloons are still actively involved in the collective whilst other members have come and gone.

Over the years there has been a fairly consistent membership of about 25 musicians. The collective is run by the members on a voluntary basis and no one is paid a salary. Silo SE8 Musicians Collective offers local musicians a shared studio space in which to practice our instruments, rehearse material and store equipment.

We are active in the local community putting on concerts, reviving the centuries old May Day Jack in the Green Deptford procession and running Skronk, an improvisation night open to all at The Endeavour in Deptford. We have worked with artist Sue Lawes running the “Give us back our Bloomin’ Anchor” campaign and were successful in securing the return of our Deptford High Street landmark.

Silo SE8 members were involved in the organisation of the Fordham Park festivals, as well as performing at them. We have also been involved in Lewisham People’s Day, Deptford X, Deptford Festival, Party in the Park and Lewisham: London Borough of Culture 2022. We have organised benefit shows for Survivors Poetry, ALD Life and MAD Pride. We supported the visit of the MS Stubnitz from Hamburg, Germany where it is now a permanently moored arts venue. Silo SE8 members have performed in all of these.

In 2019 the management of leases of all railway arches in London were transferred from National Rail to a private company. In 2020 that company invoked a rent review as per the lease, for all tenants. They increased the rent “in line with market rates”, which was about double what we had been paying previously. Silo SE8 entered into dialogue with our new landlord requesting a concessionary discount as we are not a commercial entity. These conversations were protracted, partially due to the COVID pandemic. In February 2024 both Silo SE8 and the landlord agreed a new rent at just under a 70% increase. All members are now paying an increased monthly rent. What we did not expect was that this increase would be backdated to the 2020 rent review date, landing us with a £12,200 bill'

You can donate to their crowdfunder here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/silose8

You can also support them by buying compilation albums from their bandcamp: https://silo-se8.bandcamp.com

Last month David Aylward from Silo SE8 presented a special edition of the Bad Punk show on Resonance FM. He talks about its origins in the South East London Musicians Collective (SELMC) operating out of TUC unemployed centre in Catford in the 1980s/early 1990s with gigs at the Lewisham Labour Club and elsewhere. Then on to Music City in New Cross, Mumford Mills and Seagar Distillery in Deptford, and the Merryweather fire engine factory in Greenwich. Most of these places have been lost to successive waves of development, but the railway arch in Resolution Way remains as long as they can pay the rent...