Drumsheds can host as many as 15,000 people in a former Ikea and is lauded by many – but following a licensing review, there are concerns it’s too big to function

In December it looked like Drumsheds, the UK’s largest nightclub housed in a former Ikea in north London, could be in serious trouble less than 18 months after it opened, after two drug-related deaths and a knife attack connected to the venue. Following a licensing review last week, it can stay open – but serious questions remain around the future of the 15,000-capacity superclub, and what its struggles say about night-time culture more broadly.

Enfield council’s review was triggered by the Metropolitan police, who alleged “serious failings” on the part of Drumsheds’ owners, Broadwick Live. These include failures to report two drug-related hospitalisations (one of them fatal) in October and December, another drug-related death in December, a knife being brought into the club in November, and the “uncooperative” attitude of security staff when an attender was subsequently slashed and hospitalised. Both the Metropolitan police and Enfield council declined to comment in detail on Drumsheds’ licence review, or the modified terms under which it’s been allowed to remain open.