Simon Tracey, a key figure in bringing the 5,000-capcicity event space Printworks to London’s Canada Water, has predicted the enterprise will set the trend for evolving club formats in the capital.
Tracey, chief executive of Vibration Group, a lead partner in turning the vast British Land owned former printing press into a major new events space, said the daytime entertainment programme had been designed to have minimal impact on the local community.
Despite having permission to open until 2am, Tracey said they had chosen to close the initial schedule of electronic music at Printworks at 10pm.
He suggested the daytime schedule and careful consideration of the impact of major musical events could set the agenda for club culture following a period of high-profile closures.
Tracey said: “The idea is you walk out in the morning and you would never know anything had happened the night before. You find that on a Friday afternoon the streets have more litter than a Monday morning, because we clear other people’s litter as well.
“The audience are there for the music, and if it’s a darkened factory, it could be anytime of the day. It has minimal impact on the local area, which is more sustainable for British Land, and also the local residents.
“People’s enjoyment is not diminished in any way shape or form, and I think we will see more of this sort of thing.
“From the GLA’s point of view these type of things are really important and sit into making London great, it can’t just be finance, there’s got to be a cultural element.”
Following an initial electronic music programme, there are plans for more diverse cultural events at the space.
Tracey said although it was uncertain how long the temporary venue would last, as it is subject to the development plans of British Land, he predicted it would set the template for events in London in previously unused space.
He added: “It’s always a challenge selling tickets for back to back events, but we’ve shown with the right content it can be done.
“Everything we do is leading the way in how venues are run – our security plans, checks on the door, token system, lockers instead of cloakrooms – it’s all following best practice, which means the model is more sustainable.”
