The White Hotel to close in January after 10 years

Salford’s cult venue confirmed it will close this January in an interview with the Guardian after 10 years, as redevelopment plans place the site in a flood-risk zone.

Date published: 28th May 2026

One of the defining venues of the North West’s underground music and arts scene is closing its doors. Cult Salford venue The White Hotel confirmed it will close in January 2027 after 10 years in an interview with the Guardian, owing to Salford City Council’s Strategic Regeneration Framework placing the site in a flood-risk zone amid redevelopment plans for the area.

Artistic director Austin Collings and venue “caretaker” Ben Ward told the paper that they are bowing out on their own terms. Its unique location, nestled within an abandoned industrial estate in the shadow of Strangeways Prison, is one of the latest to be targeted for gentrification, with over 7,000 homes planned for the area while the site itself will become a wetland park. Recently dubbed the Strange Quarter, the area surrounding the White Hotel has become a haven for the city’s alternative underground scene, with venues like the Derby Brewery Arms located nearby.

Taking its name from a Freudian erotic 1981 novel, The White Hotel initially took influence from Soho’s Colony Room Club, whose famous clientele included Francis Bacon, David Bowie, William S. Burroughs and the Young British Artists of the 1990s. Initially planned to stay open for just a year, the venue became known for its DIY spirit, all-night raves, avant garde performances and hosting Andy Weatherall’s final DJ set. 

Collings and Ward will launch their festival The Black Lights in Blackpool from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June 2026, featuring Rainy Miller, A Guy Called Gerald, Blackhaine, Mica Levi and many more.

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