DRUMSHEDS will remain open in light of a series of safety incidents following a sub-committee hearing held yesterday.
The Enfield Council, the governing body presiding over the borough of London where the 15,000-capacity superclub resides, announced yesterday their decision that venue operator Broadwick Live “should retain their license with modified conditions,” according to a report from Resident Advisor.
Councilor Susan Erbil added that council officers and police will continue to monitor the venue and undertake safety compliance checks, “but it’s the premises license holder’s responsibility to ensure the conditions are upheld,” RA reports.
The hearing followed an emergency licensing review by London’s Metropolitan Police on December 12, called in response to two drug-related deaths and a non-fatal stabbing that were reported at, or after, events at DRUMSHEDS in late 2024.
The first incident took place on October 12, when a 27-year-old man who took drugs at a Worried About Henry Event was treated in DRUMSHEDS’ on-site medical facility before being allowed to return to the dance floor, London Centric reports. Later, he returned to the medical facility and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died, according to documents submitted to the Enfield Council by police investigators.
The next month, a non-fatal stabbing happened inside the former IKEA venue during Jamie Jones’ Paradise event on November 16. London Centric reports the victim was taken to the hospital after the incident, but no arrests were made. Constable Francis Peters claimed that DRUMSHEDS staff were “uncooperative” with police on the night of the stabbing, according to RA.
On December 7, after attending a DRUMSHEDS event headlined by Bicep, a 29-year-old woman died in the hospital as a result of a drug overdose at the premises, according to police documents. In the hearing, police deduced that the “sheer logistical problem of searching 15,000 people” contributed to “poor searching of customers at the venue,” according to RA.
London Centric reports that tighter security in response to the hearing on December 12 was to blame for attendee claims of two-hour entry lines, unsafe overcrowding, and “aggressive” search measures at a UKF event the following night. DRUMSHEDS later apologized for the discomfort in a statement shared with Mixmag.
Featured image from DRUMSHEDS. Credit: Jake Davis.
