But there will be seven £300-a-night sniffer dogs on patrol
Yesterday it was reported that Fabric, one of London's most famous clubs faced the threat of closure in light of drug-related deaths at the venue. Now, it's been announced that the license will not be revoked, but some strict security measures are to be introduced. Fabric is appealing against some of the mooted security plans and yesterday released a statement explaining how seriously they take the issue of drug use within the club and expressed their sorrow over the people that had lost their lives.
For anybody who's been to Fabric, they'll know that searches on the door are already fairly rigorous. However, the council has ruled that searches for drugs must increase. Additionally, more CCTV must be introduced and ID checks must be done on every clubber.
Perhaps the most intimidating news is that seven sniffer dogs must be on patrol at all times outside, at the cost of £300 per dog and handler. Fabric's solicitor Paddy Whur told the Evening Standard: "They will need seven dogs per night because they can only work for a certain number of hours. The vast majority of private sector dog providers are not trained to the level that police dogs are. So it’s been difficult finding one to meet the criteria police want".
The club's founders Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly also said that they were unhappy with some of the requirements and would be appealing. "We need to see their written reasons but we fundamentally disagree on a number of key points. In 15 years we have had six million people come through the doors and sadly there have been four deaths. We do everything we can to stop people taking drugs in the club".
While the decision to keep its doors open is undoubtedly good news for a club that has been at the centre of not just London's, but the world's dance music scene, there are of course concerns that such an intense, zero-tolerance approach to security may undermine and damage the club's atmosphere.
For now, the club is holding on and these measures will only come into effect when Fabric has seen the report and decided how it wants to appeal.
UPDATE: Fabric emailed us a statement, see below:
"In light of last night’s review, we’d like to stress that fabric will continue to work with the Met Police and Islington Council. We’ve always taken great pride in our relationship with both parties and the open ended nature of our communication. Nevertheless we are disappointed with the outcome of last night’s review and the fact that our points weren’t taken on board.
Our chief and only consideration has - and always will be - for the safety, well-being and best interests of the people that come to this venue. If we disagree on any points it is because we feel there is a better and more well thought out approach that would better protect our patrons.
As a team we’ve dedicated ourselves to putting on the best music events possible in the best possible environment for the last 15 years. We strive to lead from the front in regards to the management of our social responsibilities and the constantly evolving challenges of the night-time environment - both the Police and the Council hailed our venue as a best-practice model on many levels in last night’s hearing.
As mentioned previously, we’d like to stress that none of the proposed measures will come in to affect until after the outcome of an appeal process. We genuinely look forward to getting on with what we do best, putting on forward thinking events, starting tonight and all throughout the busy festive and New Year period.
Lastly, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the overwhelming level of support we’ve received - particularly over these last 36 hours. Issues like this galvanize an already incredibly passionate and intelligent collective of people and the messages of encouragement have been truly inspiring".
