THE home of Warrington's alternative music scene has announced its closure.

Old Town House in Buttermarket Street will be shutting its doors in April after providing a live platform for hundreds of bands in the town over almost two years.

The bar particularly supported the DIY punk and hard rock scene but also played host to grassroots Warrington bands and even welcomed many artists from all over the world. 

But Jen Burgess, who runs the venue, has always been open about Old Town House's financial challenges.

She launched a crowdfunding campaign in response to its 'constant battle to stay afloat' in July 2018.

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Jen, who also works at Parr Hall and has 11 years of event management experience, released a joint statement with her husband Gazz about the closure on Facebook.

She said: It's super sad to be posting this but after a lot of careful thought and deliberation we've made the very difficult decision to call it a day as of April this year.

"We're sure this will come as a huge disapointment to some of you, and it is in a lot of ways to us as well.

"We're immensely proud of what we've managed to create here and will be incredibly sad to see it go. 

"That said we just don't feel we have the time and energy to commit to making this the awesome and sustainable place we know it could be.

"Last year was a rollercoaster of massive highs and lows for us that has left us both emotionally and physically exhausted and we think we need to take some time to look after ourselves for a bit.

"That said we know it'd be a shame to lose the great community space we've built here and if anyone is interested in taking on the challenge of venue life then we'd be happy to still be involved in some - much smaller - capacity.

"Finally we'd like to say a massive thanks to everyone that's supported us over the last two years, so many great bands and events, the hardest part about all this is the thought of letting you wonderful people down, thanks to you we'll take away some awesome memories from this place.

"We will be filling the next couple of months will some great events so let's make the most of it whilst we can."

Jen and Cait Costello opened Old Town House in 2017 after they were sad to see it close under previous owners.

It has been a difficult venue to maintain over the years with numerous landlords and name changes over the years, including The Doghouse and The Brewhouse.

In Jen and Cait's hands, Old Town House also offered vegan junk food, board game and quiz nights and a number of special events like Rock for Corbyn and Halloween specials.