Find Ibiza on the Costa del Thames

Here I am, still adjusting to the fact that I've had to kiss away any hope of going to Ibiza this summer — it's a disposable barbecue on Clapham Common and an iPod dock for me. Apparently I'm not alone — the economic downturn, redundancies and the weakness of the pound has left an unprecedented number of London's dance lovers resigned to a summer away from the White Isle as the purse strings draw ever tighter.

Even my most die-hard friends are praying for a Lottery win in time for the closing parties in September.

It's rough, but there is a glimmer on the Greenwich horizon. The unlikely area has become the last bastion for clubbers as we watch our notable nightspots razed to the ground or pushed further out of town. As Matter stoically puts on cracking night after cracking night for London's deprived dance music aficionados, it now finds itself with a comrade-in-arms at neighbouring THAT club (formerly known as The House And Terrace).

The past 14 months has seen the ­dedicated THAT team turn this unassuming pile on the Blackwall Tunnel approach into a dance venue with a capacity of 1,600 and with an extra trick up its sleeve: the only fully functional dance terrace in London.

With no expense spared on the decadent décor typical of a balmy Balearic hotspot, it didn't take long for Ibiza's finest party organisers to see its potential and begin booking nights here for the clubbers left behind this year.

Secretsundaze opened its summer here to a full house, quickly followed by Cream Ibiza and last Saturday was the turn of In Bed With Space. The Ibizan superclub team promised a true "Space experience" with its trademark uplifting techno sound coming from Jaded Afterparty resident Raymundo Rodriguez and Ryan Ellis at the top of the line-up.

Just after midnight, our taxi pulled up outside THAT, which rose like a pink and blue neon beacon from the side of the A102 off Boord Street. Located a few yards back from a major A-road, the only hint of what was inside came in the form of bikini-clad stilt walkers welcoming the clubbers lining up to pay their £8 door tariff.

Behind the velvet curtain into the huge main room, a plush den of iniquity awaited us. The crowd, earnestly tucking into a lively house set from Animal House, was of the dress-well-party-hard extraction — in skimpy summer dresses and oversized shades just like they'd do it on the Continent. After a round of vodka and tonics (£4.50 each) we were ready to ­explore the venue's trump card. With the DJs in a beach hut and lush palm foliage dotted between the wooden seating and around the dance floor, the 700-capacity terrace opened up like a secret Spanish garden behind the club. Lewis Wright was throwing out a great tech house set and, despite the tropical storm we'd suffered earlier in the day, it had turned into a beautiful evening for ­dancing outside.

"London has been crying out for a space like this," club promoter Gareth Ingham told me. "We can do whatever we want out here! There are too many corporate-owned clubs in this city. We're independent which gives us so much flexibility — we can get creative and really try and bring Ibiza to the UK."

This flexibility also allows for the full spectrum of events here, from drum&bass raves on Fridays to the Balearic offshoots it's becoming famous for. Plus with the imminent installation of a Vortex sound system — and no neighbours to complain about the jaw-breaking decibels — the promoters are adamant no element of your Ibiza experience will be left to chance.