London’s iconic Fabric nightclub has reopened, with it now carrying a stricter set of rules that will see it turning away anyone under the age of 19, and banning those in possession of drugs from the venue for life.
Fabric was shut down earlier this year after two 18-year-olds died of a drug overdose on its premises, leading to its license being revoked. Council members stated that the venue’s security hadn’t been efficient when it came to properly searching its customers, though critics of this decision spoke up regarding those who were put in charge of making this decision, saying that they did not accurately represent the demographic who would visit Fabric and therefore had a natural bias against it.
But now Fabric’s doors have been allowed to reopen, after lawyers struck a deal with Islington Council ahead of the club’s planned appealing of the decision. This new deal will see Fabric now refuse entry to anyone below the age of 19, while also dishing out harsher punishments to those in possession of or dealing drugs inside the venue.
In a join statement with Islington Council, Fabric said: “Fabric accepts that its procedures in relation to searching were insufficient, as were its procedures to prevent the consumption and dealing of drugs within the club itself.
“Fabric accepts that the police acted reasonably in making the application for a review and that the authority’s sub-committee was fully entitled to revoke its licence.
“Fabric repudiates the online abuse aimed at committee members and council staff and will permanently exclude anyone who has been found to be involved.”
The new ruling has seen Fabric being forced to create new jobs for specialists, who will be tasked with preventing drugs from entering the venue along with a new “welfare team” who will be trained to help anyone who is showing signs of illness. ID scanners are also set to be used on the door, meaning that those carrying fake IDs will now no longer be able to gain entry. All 250 Fabric staff members will also receive drug awareness training, while a CCTV system will be implemented to broadcast a live feed and detect criminal activity.
It’s unsure how these new methods will affect Fabric’s relationship with the council in the future, but for the time being at least fans of the famous venue will get to see its doors open once again.
Image Credit: Carl Court / Getty Images
(Via Islington Gazette)
