Today's news of the closure of First Out at the end of the month started with a Tweet from the bar stating "Dear friends, the news is bad. First_Out Cafe will be closing its door on 29th October. Come and say goodbye. We are all very sad." Following this were several Tweets and Facebook status updates in shock and disbelief. (also reported by Pink News) It is a sad reminder of the state of the lesbian scene in London right now.

This year we have also seen the end of G Spot due to the loss of the venue and the closure of The Green in Islington, and in recent years of course the Glass Bar and Chocolate Lounge both lost their homes. Remember Rush in Soho, another victim? We should also not forget that for a time the Candy Bar was under threat until it was bought by the owner of Ku Bar.  Ghetto moved to the City in search of lower rents and suitable venues available at weekends, but with more and more events moving to City locations, what happens if these hire rates continue to increase too? Of course, the first venue to become a victim in the last 6-7 years was Vespa at Centre Point.

As a result of increased costs in leasing property, we are seeing a move towards venue owners becoming event organisers – forced to use non-scene, less well located venues – on the outskirts of town or in the City which is largely closed at the weekend. There have been some great events launched over the years, but even these, it seems, struggle to stand the test of time – with many events coming and going.

This month alone both Other People's Property and DirtyConverse have announced that they are going on hiatus, and it appears that attendance at some club nights is also reduced. But on the flip side, new events such as Bijou (monthly at Tart Bar), Howlers and Halo (from Good Girlz Gone Bad at Hidden) have started up... the scene it seems is still carrying on as ever, evolving and changing to meet the needs of lesbians in London.

Alongside a demise of independent lesbian venues, this leaves a tiny selection of women-only or women-centred gay venues around, which are aimed at a small section of the hugely diverse lesbian, bisexual, queer women's community in London. If you want a safe space in which to go for a quiet drink and a bite to eat where do you go now?

Many people have their opinions on why venues close. "Lesbians don’t go out" is often cited as a primary cause. But there are other factors influencing things – the recession means perhaps people can't afford to go out as much; rental prices have sky rocketed in London, pricing small independent venues out of the market; lack of up to date information about what there is on offer for our communities in the Capital, perhaps – don’t forget we set up Planet London for precisely that reason.

We need to let the closure of First Out be a warning to support our scene, or we may see the further closure of more nights and venues. We need to realise that we may have to travel outside of zone 1 in order for these independent businesses to be able to operate and run.

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