Close lap dance loophole

City centre

A “worrying loophole” that prevents councils from objecting to the opening of new lap dancing clubs should be closed, local government leaders have said, as a report showed the number of such clubs had doubled in the past four years.

The marketing of lap dancing as a leisure industry rather than a branch of the commercial sex industry has allowed its rapid expansion since the first mainsteam club opened in 1995. The report, published by campaign group Object, says the number of clubs has risen to more than 300 since the 2003 Licensing Act came into force. The law means lap dancing clubs can be licensed in the same way as cafes and karaoke venues rather than falling under legislation designed to regulate the sex industry.

Sir Robin Wales, LGA spokesperson on licensing, said people living near the clubs should have a say on whether they have permission to operate.

“It is a worrying loophole that councils are unable to take action when residents have objections to new lap dancing clubs. Parents’ concerns about their children, or neighbours’ concerns about links to prostitution and other crime, should not be ruled out on technical grounds.

“The whole point of the new licensing laws is to give local people more of a say about how pubs and clubs are run in their area and we need to make sure that this is what is happening in practice.

“It is vital that the wishes of local people are not over-ridden. If the town hall and local people are against an application for a new club then it’s difficult to see why it should be allowed to go ahead.”

The report, which has the backing of an all-party coalition of MPs and peers, says five local authorities who have blocked lap dancing clubs applications have been defeated on appeal. The campaign group believes that categorising lap dancing clubs as sex encounter establishments would put the power back into the hands of local residents.

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Have your say

  • Our major cities are already full of strip/lapdancing clubs. Or - as they are euphemistically called - "gentlemen's clubs". It's easy to open one, and almost impossible to open a new music venue: something which would at least enrich our cultural lives. Sex sells, apparently, but at the expense of something more sustainable. Sex clubs make city life seem sleazy and superficial. So yes, councils should be able to intervene to restrict lap dancing clubs from opening.

    John Robinson on 28 Apr 2008

  • Definitely; just as they should be able to make all local decisions according to local people's needs and desires.

    valerie halton on 28 Apr 2008

  • Where is this "proof" that lapdancing clubs are linked to prostitution - and that street crime rises when they open? Until there is hard data - which there isn't right now - this is just people who don't like these establishments telling the rest of the populace we shouldn't be allowed to go to them. I live in an area of London with numerous sex clubs and can honestly say there's far less trouble spilling out of any of them than from any normal pub on a Saturday night. Sorry, but that's not democracy, it's facism.

    Martin D on 29 Apr 2008

 

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