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Skepta, who will headline Field Day 2019, could be setting his satnav for Meridian Water.
Skepta, who will headline Field Day 2019, could be setting his satnav for Meridian Water. Photograph: Scott Garfitt/Rex/Shutterstock
Skepta, who will headline Field Day 2019, could be setting his satnav for Meridian Water. Photograph: Scott Garfitt/Rex/Shutterstock

Tottenham gas works to transform into Drumsheds mega-venue

This article is more than 4 years old

Industrial warehouse site with space for 10,000 people – and no worries about disturbing neighbours – could open this summer with Field Day festival

The founders of the club Printworks London have announced that they are to transform a disused gas works into an event space for up to 10,000 people. The Drumsheds, located in the north London borough of Enfield, will primarily cater to music. The latest venture from agency and promoter Broadwick Live is scheduled to launch in June with the 12th edition of Field Day festival.

Tucked around the back of Tottenham Ikea superstore, the venue backs on to Tottenham Marshes and is flanked by two rivers. The colossal site encompasses four interlinked warehouses with a combined capacity of 10,000 people, plus 10 acres of outdoor space for a further 30,000. The indoor area rivals the size of Alexandra Palace and will qualify as London’s biggest warehouse music venue.

It is approximately 1km from Walthamstow, which means that events taking place at Drumsheds can reach higher volumes and longer opening hours than almost any other London venue without the risk of disturbing the neighbours – just one of the issues that has prompted promoters to take their nightlife spots to the city’s periphery.

The Field Day festival experienced a sample of these issues last year when their relocation to south London’s Brockwell Park from east London’s Victoria Park caused a long dispute with Lambeth council and local residents. “It’s quite a sensitive issue rocking up and putting on a music festival on residents’ doorsteps,” says festival director Luke Huxham. “Keeping the council, the residents, and your guests happy is a bit of a balancing act.”

The interior of one of the Drumsheds warehouse venues. Photograph: Jake Davis

Broadwick hopes that its latest venture will eliminate the need for such considerations: it has partnered with Enfield council as part of a £6bn regeneration programme in Meridian Water set to span the next 20 years and to create thousands of new jobs and homes. The development includes the opening of Meridian Water railway station this summer with trains to Stratford and Liverpool Street.

Along with the recent opening of Tottenham Hotspur’s new £1bn stadium less than a mile away from from the site, plus the inclusion of Tottenham Hale station on the night tube, this area of north London has announced itself as a destination for culture. “Places like Hackney are turning the lights out, but Enfield is turning them on,” says Huxham.

Alan Sitkin is an ex-governance board member for Meridian Water, a former Enfield borough cabinet member for the economic regeneration of business, and local resident. “On one level we all share the ambition of a night-time economy in the borough – it doesn’t bother me at all to have cultural events at Meridian Water,” he says. “I want hipsters to come to Meridian Water, they bring money and that’s a good thing. The question is whether Drumsheds will succeed. If it feels artificial and young people don’t come then you’re spending a lot of taxpayers’ money on an ambition without it panning out. It’s something that may not have worked in the past. If they can get warm bodies out to visit the venue, I’ll be delighted.”

Forming partnerships with local councils and developers is all part of Broadwick’s business model of “breathing new life” into spaces awaiting redevelopment. “We see an opportunity to create something special in the interim of the regeneration phase,” says Bradley Thompson, managing director of Broadwick Live & Venues. “We want to launch venues for London that are forward-thinking in terms of music programming that also work from a corporate, community and financial perspective.”

The Drumsheds joins a growing number of innovative nightlife projects in the area including the Cause, located in a former car workshop, and neighbours Grow Tottenham – a community garden, cafe, and club housed in a previously disused warehouse. The rise in warehouse clubbing can be attributed to better transport links out to the suburbs, providing Londoners with a clubbing experience in an industrial setting akin to that of Berlin.

Jme performing at Printworks’s venue at Surrey Quays, London. Photograph: Ollie Millington/Redferns

While Printworks – in south London’s Surrey Quays dockland redevelopment – is memorable for its backdrop of original industrial machinery and printing press galleries, the Drumsheds is more of a blank canvas. The only smattering of colour amid its stark grey tones comes from two staggering yellow structures. Following a similar format to Printworks, half of the warehouse space in the Drumsheds will be used as ancillary spaces for food traders, seating, lockers and faster security checks.

On first look, it’s hard to imagine how Field Day will claim a space so striking, but Huxham says it will prove an evolution for the festival. “We’re not trying to leave old Field Day behind, but Drumsheds has given us a platform to reinvent and create something completely new for London’s festival scene. The late licensing puts us on a level playing field with the European festivals, which is what we’re aiming for: a new offering that’s more than a few tents in a park.”

Skepta, Jorja Smith, Bonobo, Jungle, Modeselektor, the Black Madonna and Todd Terje will be among the first artists to perform in the Drumsheds for Field Day 2019, which takes place on 7–8 June. The venue’s autumn/winter programming will be announced later this year, and will follow a similar format to Printworks, with clusters of events that run over a few months at a time.

Broadwick also plans to host brand activations, product launches, automotive events, film and production sets in the new venue.

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