A NEW gay bar that is attempting to fill the void left by the closure of Camden Town venue The Black Cap is appealing to councillors for permission to trade until 3am. 

Bloc Bar opened in Kentish Town Road in July and supporters say it is providing a home for the borough’s LGBT community, which was lost when the Black Cap was abruptly closed in April. But the team behind the venue have told Camden Council that they now need to extend their licence in order to accommodate the cabaret performers that were an integral part of the Black Cap. 

Their application, which will be decided by a committee of councillors at the Town Hall tonight (Thursday), has received dozens of letters in support. 

Nigel Harris, who chairs Camden LGBT Forum, said: “Since the closure of the Black Cap on Camden High Street, a minute’s walk from the Bloc Bar, a significant number of LGBT residents have lost their community hub. The Cap was the only LGBT venue in Camden Town. Many residents facing severe isolation and difficulty with their own sexuality and gender identity relied on the Cap as a place to meet others and a sanctuary from homophobia. The Bloc Bar, although without the Cap’s history, will provide a much-needed hub for these residents.”

He added: “The drive to keep our heritage of providing local opportunities for artists to perform is very important. Providing the Bloc Bar with a late licence will allow this to continue… cabaret and drag performers perform late and it is not plausible to operate cabaret before 11pm”.

The extended licence would allow performances until 2am on weeknights, 3am on Fridays and Saturdays and 1am on Sundays. 

Drew Caiden, a cabaret artist who performs as Virgin Xtravaganzah and used to work at the Black Cap, said: “With so many venues going down in London, the fact that this one has been able to set up in such a short space of time and thrive so quickly is testament to the wonderful team behind the venue and promises to be a sanctuary and safe haven for many LGBT people in the Camden area, such as myself.”

Henry Hall, who chairs Chalk Farm Housing Group, which represents 600 residents in the area, wrote to the Town Hall and said the application would not “cause any unnecessary disturbance or impact,” adding: “This can only be deemed as an asset to the gay/lesbian community… I have consulted with many of my residents who all feel the same.”

But not all those who have written to Camden Council are in support. Patricia Thomas, secretary of the Harmood, Clarence, Hartland Residents’ Association, asked for the application to be rejected “on the grounds of public nuisance.” Citing the impact of people making their way home from the venue late at night, she said: “It is hard to see how this can be justified”.