Drumsheds ordered to reduce capacity to 10,000 following license review

London’s Drumsheds has been ordered to reduce its capacity from 15,000 to 10,000 following a license review by Enfield Council yesterday (January 7).

As reported by London Centric, the capacity reduction was part of several stipulations from the Metropolitan Police to re-open the venue, after its license had been brought under review as a result of a series of serious incidents last year. According to documents submitted to councillors by investigators, the incidents include two drug deaths and a stabbing.

The first death was a 27-year-old man, who fell at the venue on October 27 — he was transported to Middlesex Hospital along with three other people, where he later died. Another individual was left in intensive care.

Investigators found “serious failings” in the care provided by in-house medical staff, after discovering that the attendee – who later died – had been treated earlier that night “due to his taking of drugs,” but had been “released back into the event” instead of being transported to hospital or arrangements made to remove him from the venue.

The testimony also claims that Drumsheds had not reported the incident “on the night,” which led to the “police response and subsequent investigation being delayed.” Police claim Drumsheds had “poor searching” of customers, which it believed was partly due to the “sheer logistical problem of searching 15,000 people”

On November 18, police were called to the venue following a knife attack that left a patron “with several lacerations over his body and requiring hospital treatment.” The report claims that security had been “uncooperative” with officers, who had considered shutting down the event – a party headlined by Jamie Jones – but were prevented by “the size of the crowd and the lack of resources to do so safely.”

Following a second drug death – a 29-year-old woman who had taken MDMA and was later found in a toilet during Bicep’s The Hydra show on December 7 – authorities put Drumsheds license under review following a hearing on December 12.

“The council decided the venue could retain its licence, subject to additional conditions. We have had contingencies in place for the most recent event, including an enhanced police presence,” a Met spokesperson told Mixmag earlier this month.

As reported by London Centric, some of the new stipulations for security in the venue led to lengthy queues to enter its UKF event the following day and difficulty in managing the crowd at its entrance, which had led to hundreds of complaints and a petition to refund ticket holders.

Following yesterday’s review, Drumsheds will have to cap its attendance to 9,999 for events — with mandatory ID scanning for all attendees, and a slew of other new welfare and security stipulations.

While according to London Centric, the venue managed to avoid the need for “bomb detection dogs” that the Met police were pushing for, it is expected that there will be increased police presence on-site for Drumsheds events, while any incidents that take place within the venue will need to be immediately reported to the police.

It is unclear how this will affect upcoming events at Drumsheds, with the next expected to be the comeback of Red Bull’s Culture Clash on March 8 which is only scheduled to take over the “X Room,” and an event from Patrick Topping’s TRICK label on Friday, March 14 across the X and Z Rooms.

Mixmag has contacted representatives for Drumsheds for comment.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag’s Deputy Editor, follow her on Instagram