Brussels club Fuse forced to shut after 29 years due to complaints from "one neighbour"
The local government has imposed conditions on the venue that owners say make it impossible to continue running
Fuse, one of Belgium's best-known clubs, is closing down.
The team that run the 800-capacity Brussels venue took to social media to confirm the closure, revealing that it would be effectively immediately. The end of the club has come about, the venue said, as a result of complaints from a single neighbour.
According to Fuse, this neighbour bought a house next to the club "some years ago", and has made repeated complaints about the venue. Attempts to mitigate the issue have been attempted, including soundproofing work, but this has been unsuccessful, Fuse said.
As a result, the Brussels government has ordered Fuse to cap the music's volume at 95 dB and close its doors at 2 AM each night, which the club said would make it "impossible" to continue running. Though the club is closed as of now, the team behind the venue have lodged an appeal, for which the outcome should be known by 25th January.
"It is very regrettable that an iconic club gathering thousands of music lovers and artists, employing ten people during the week and 80 employers during the weekend, is put at stake because of one neighbour," the club said in a statement confirming its closure. "It is clear that the closing of Fuse Club and the parties it hosts also has an impact on the local economy, foreign tourism and Brussels cultural life."
The venue opened in 1994, and has been one of the local clubbing scene's main fixtures ever since, frequently hosting events with local artists and various international names from across the electronic music scene.
