The Closure of Freedom Mills

On the 28th of November, 2025, Freedom Mills will open its doors for the last time. From

“a leaky shell with no running water, toilets or fire exits” (Freedom Mills, RA), to a cornerstone of Leeds’ underground music scene, Freedom Mills has been a beating heart for the city’s ravers and misfits. The space was the perfect, intimate size for promoters to build whatever auditory and visual world they imagined: from Club Cosmos every Sunday, a psychedelic, experimental trip, to sets by dubstep heavyweights DJ Slimzee, Ludo, and Plastician.

Following the closures of other iconic venues like the Old Red Bus Station and the

Imaginarium, the question isn’t just why these places keep disappearing, but what can we do to help? The truth is found in how Leeds nightlife can’t seem to escape its exhausting, eternal role as ‘permanently grassroots,' a lively scene that repeatedly burns out before it can truly sustain itself.

Every year, students come and go. And every year, like clockwork, new DJs pop up, and fresh event collectives are born. It’s a rite of passage in the student scene: you’re seeing someone who ‘runs a label’, your housemate’s a DJ, and Freedom Mills has an event run by a guy who somehow knows all your mates. That sense of familiarity gives these venues a pseudo-community feel — the scene can’t be dying, right? The club’s packed!

But a packed dancefloor doesn’t pay the rent. The abundance of DJs and promoters doesn’t stop these venues from heading toward the same painful fate. Because really — how many of these so-called ‘labels’ call Leeds their home once the party’s over? The student-led crowds give an illusion of stability whilst hiding structural instability. The cheap entry and temporary student crowds, but most importantly, the high turnover of promoters who leave after graduation, prevent these venues from achieving the financial bedrock needed to weather rent hikes or economic pitfalls.

With this being said, there are still a lot of amazing parties that have built strong communities in Leeds. Love Muscle, Cosmic Slop, Pleasure Maxx, and Superfriendz, to name a few. These aren’t just one-off nights; they are evidence of sustainable, community-driven excellence. In conversation, a scene enthusiast noted that in recent years, there have been more ambitious conversations with young people about ways to reinvigorate our nightlife than ever before. This is a sign that students bring energy, creativity, and behave as a driving force in keeping the Leeds scene evolving.

The Leeds Nightlife Economy Group (LNEG) play a huge role in helping the aforementioned problems. Branded as a ‘collaborative network dedicated to promoting and supporting Leeds’ nightlife economy’, LNEG host online workshops, panel talks and brings attention to potential solutions, most recently #CutTheNighttimeTax. While there’s still further to go, rest assured that there are people who are working on the case and that the Leeds scene is in safe hands.

Freedom Mills was never just a room with a sound system. It was evidence that the city’s music culture doesn’t come from corporate money or huge mega-clubs, but from people who make small spaces come alive. When our feet touch ground in the beloved venue for the final time, on the 28th of November, it won’t just mark the end of the venue, but the end of an important chapter written by students, promoters, DJs, door staff, dancers, and strangers who met in the bathrooms.

The question that remains isn’t whether Leeds still has a scene, but whether we’re willing to fight for the spaces that let it thrive. Nightlife doesn’t survive on nostalgia. It survives on participation. If we cherish a city that has room for chaos, creativity and community, then the fight is simple: support grassroots parties. Dance at local venues. Buy drinks at the bar.

Words by Ruby Hashim, she/her