Death sentence for London mega gay sauna
Updated : 14:39
One of London's gay institutions was handed its death sentence on Thursday, with the Chariots Roman Spa sauna in Shoreditch to make way for a luxury development.
US-based hotelier Highgate Holdings had their planning application approved by Hackney Council on Thursday.
It means the 20,000 square foot sauna would close, along with a neighbouring Majestic Wine Warehouse, to make way for a 200-bedroom luxury hotel, offices and retail space.
While Chariots had not released an official statement, its official Twitter account sent out a sad-face emoji. It also confirmed there was no definite closing date as yet.
The sauna had been the subject of news in recent years, with a large fire in 2011 sending a number of men into the street wearing just their towels.
A 46-year-old man was found dead in the sauna in 2012, and the body of another man was found at Chariots Waterloo last year, though neither death was treated as suspicious.
Chariots still had three venues remaining in the capital -Streatham, Waterloo and Vauxhall.
Highgate reportedly managed more than 10,000 hotel rooms in US cities, including the 1,300 room The Row hotel in New York City.