Closure of Margate Leisure Centre in Cliftonville following ‘challenging summer’

Margate Leisure Centre has closed (Image MLC)

A Cliftonville venue that offered boules, axe throwing and street food has announced its closure.

Margate Leisure Centre and Black Axe Throwing Margate, based in Edgar Road, says the closure yesterday (September 29) comes after a “challenging summer.”

The business opened in Cliftonville in May 2022. It initially started out as a pop up in Edinburgh with Black Axe venues following in Belfast, Southampton and Lancaster.

But the business, which previously closed its Black Axe Edinburgh site, has now announced the closure of the Cliftonville site, posting to social media to say: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the closure of MLC and Black Axe Throwing.

“Following a challenging summer we have no option but to close our doors, for the very last time.

“To everyone who came along to throw things, either round or sharp, thank you, we had the most wonderful time teaching you. We’d like to thank all of the amazing people who have worked with us over the last few years.

“You helped bring our venue to life in ways we never thought possible, you are all brilliant. A big shout out to POW who hosted a superb event while we were still half a building site. To all our amazing staff, both past and present, you were everything and made this place what it was.

“We are incredibly proud of what we achieved, but it’s now time for us to say goodbye.”

The venue offered axe throwing, boule pitches, bar, pizzas and free to play games in house such as Hammerschlagen, Cornhole, Crosscut Sawing, Table Football and others.

Black Axe venues remain running at Belfast, Southampton and Lancaster.

17 Comments

  1. The perils of opening a niche business in a smallish town , with a short tourist season and a catchment area that is 270 degrees english channel. And now there are the new attractions at westwood cross with better parking and food outlets within easy reach. Odds were rather stacked against them.

    • A problem many businesses are going to have going forward, a business isn’t one if it can’t make a profit but to do so means costs are passed onto customers who may not feel the end product is worth it. Compounded in thanet where there are many with little disposable income and we don’t have enough al year attractions to attract decent numbers of visitors through out the winter season. If the budget at the end of this month makes too many people feel sufficiently worse off to substantially reduce their discretionary spending , it won’t be surprising to see more businesses follow suit, surely better to close in a managed fashion than have your debts force closure on you.
      The isles restaurants are noticeably quieter than they have been in the past, unlikely all will survive.

  2. More of the same from the usual suspects.. gloating in businesses closing as they’d prefer things to be nothing, rather than a thing that doesn’t directly and specifically appeal to them. What dull, little worlds.

  3. I didn’t even know there was a Margate leisure centre in Edgar Road, Cliftonville.
    No advertising of what went on there might have been a factor in closing.

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