The nightclub boss, the watermill and the very hacked off boaters

The red bricks of Thwaite Mills glow in the low autumn sun. The mill complex sits on an island between the veins that were once its lifeblood: the River Aire to the north, which powered its water wheels; and the canal to the south, where chalk was shipped in, and “putty” shipped out.

Now it is a scene of entirely different industry. Diggers whir away to my right as I make my way down the long driveway towards the surprisingly pristine buildings. I later find out this huge expanse of flattened soil will become a lawn area for the public to enjoy. Ideas are being thrown around for its use: food stalls, car boot sales.

My host is Terry George, the multimillionaire Leeds businessman. “Normally you’d have to travel quite far to get somewhere like this”, he enthuses. He’s right — we’re just a 45-minute walk from the city centre, but you feel like you’re in the depths of remote woodland. 

If you’ve ever gone clubbing at FIBRE, or The Viaduct Showbar, then you’ve been one of Terry’s customers. The nightlife impresario is a big character, who owns a castle — named Britain’s best home by Channel 5 in 2008 — and began his career aged 12 when he started interviewing celebrities as a hobby. (This is where he came into contact with Michael Jackson, in 1979. Terry later revealed to The Mirror that, when he was 13, Jackson would regularly ring him up, and on one call “asked me if I masturbated”.)

Now, he and his business partner — Will Habergham, the owner of Green Room — have moved in a new direction and bought a 19th century watermill, with a rumoured price tag of over a million. The plan, roughly, is to turn into a multi-function venue incorporating a working museum, pub and space for events. 

Terry’s instagram is full of videos of the project. Some are called “Trouble at Mill” and feature comedy mishaps, like going to Leicester to buy an ice cream van that almost immediately breaks down on the drive back. “Rust bucket”, Terry jibes, when I bring this up. Habergham, who is also along today, flashes his bright white teeth and says: “Gorgeous ice cream van, put that in there”, as he leans towards me and points at my notepad, adding that Terry is “barred”.

However, one of the reasons I’m here is I’ve been told there really is trouble at the mill. Before Terry and Will took over, there was a community of boaters moored up alongside, who had made their home here. The arrangement was admittedly somewhat informal. But now, a couple of them allege that the manner in which they’ve been dealt with since the takeover has been heavy-handed — aggressive, even.

When I put their criticism to Terry, his face crumples. He tells me: “that kind of upsets me a little bit to hear that”. He’s here to do something for the community, and doesn’t believe anything of that sort has happened at all.

The snag is, though: I have the recording.

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