Ritz Ballroom forced to close with all future events cancelled

A Brighouse venue which has been is in the middle of a legal wrangle involving a London hotel for months has closed, cancelling all its future events and refunding customers.
Glen Smith, the manager of the Ritz Ballroom, in Brighouse, Huddersfield, West Yorks. The club and live music venue has received a letter from the Ritz Hotel in London, demanding that they cease to trade under the name Ritz. February 21, 2017. See Ross Parry story RPYRITZ -Glen Smith, the manager of the Ritz Ballroom, in Brighouse, Huddersfield, West Yorks. The club and live music venue has received a letter from the Ritz Hotel in London, demanding that they cease to trade under the name Ritz. February 21, 2017. See Ross Parry story RPYRITZ -
Glen Smith, the manager of the Ritz Ballroom, in Brighouse, Huddersfield, West Yorks. The club and live music venue has received a letter from the Ritz Hotel in London, demanding that they cease to trade under the name Ritz. February 21, 2017. See Ross Parry story RPYRITZ -

The Brighouse Ritz, which is used for ballroom dancing, live music and Northern Soul nights, announced in February that it had been contacted by lawyers from the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly who gave the owners until next week to stop using the name or face legal action.

A flood of support froom the general public, acts and an online petition has been set up to save the venue.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Owner Glenn Smith was forced to drop the name and remove all affiliation with the Ritz title from websites and social media but re-opened in March.

However, in a post on the venue’s Facebook page it said: “Due to recent publicised events the Ritz Brighouse will be closed, all future events have been cancelled, all customers will be fully refunded.

“Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Thank you to all customers past and present.”

Mr Smith took over the reins of the building on Bradford Road after it was put up for sale by the owners at the start of 2014.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

After coming to the venue for 20 years he said once he found out that the Ritz was being sold, he decided to take it rather than see something else happen to it.

The Ritz dates back to 1937 when it opened as a cinema, the first in Brighouse.

It closed in 1963 and re-opened as a bingo hall in 1965 before being bought in 1981, when it was refurbished and converted to a dance hall.