Illegal dance parties on the rise in London as nightclubs fall victim to gentrification
Rising cost of booze another cause of rave resurgence, after more than half the city’s clubs closed between 2005 and 2015
The number of illegal raves in London has soared, police figures reveal, with a steep decline in the number of nightclubs in the capital one of the key causes.
The number of unlicensed raves in London, often held in warehouses or abandoned buildings, has nearly doubled since 2016.
Plans for 133 unlicensed raves were identified by the Metropolitan Police in 2017, up from 70 the previous year, according to figures obtained by a freedom of information request carried out by The Sunday Telegraph.
One explanation for the rise is the rapid decline in the number of traditional venues, with more than half of all London clubs shutting down between 2005 and 2015, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR). Since 2015, the number of licensed hospitality premises has dropped by 3 per cent across the UK.
Among the casualties have been Plastic People, Cable, and Dance Tunnel in London, The Arches in Glasgow, and Sankeys in Manchester.
The rising cost of drinks could also be putting revellers off clubs. Going to a pub is becoming an unaffordable luxury, according to a report published in September by consumer rights group CAMRA, publisher of the Good Pub Guide.
