councils to axe lap dancing clubs the AA grumpy column
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:29 pm
hello and welcome to the last AA grumpy column of 2011
i had a little breakypoos over xmas and ready to dig the dirt from 2011 to 2012.
LAP dancing clubs face the axe as councils use new hardline laws to strip their towns of the bars.
Town halls across the country are at varying stages of changing the licensing laws to force the clubs to close.
Up to 10 councils have already opted for "nil" policies, which will automatically refuse applications for any new venues.
Deciding factors include proximity to schools, places of worship and residential areas.
Anna van Heeswijk, of the feminist pressure group Object, said: "Putting a nil limit is part of ensuring the safety of women. It's part of a council's responsibility. It's an issue of local democracy."
In Tower Hill, east London, council chiefs are waiting for the result of a public consultation which proposes that the 11 clubs in the borough are all in unsuitable areas.
Meanwhile, in Leicester three strip joints were denied licences last week.
And in the City of London, the strict rules meant the only club in the area did not apply for a licence.
The Government commissioned a £100,000 study in October to research the effect of strip clubs on communities.
But Professor Phil Hubbard, of the University of Kent, who is carrying out the study, warned The Times: "The sex industry will never go away.
"Even pressure that's pushed it back has never made it go away. The fact that people find it distasteful doesn't mean you can criminalise it."
He said that a system was being created for lap dancing clubs under which in "some areas it will be legal and not others".
Up to 300 venues exist in Britain and many opened after a change in the licensing law in 2003 that created a "loophole" allowing clubs to be opened in much the same way as a cafe or karaoke bar, with little recourse.
In 2009 the law rebranded lap dancing, pole dancing and strip clubs as "sex entertainment venues" - similar to sex shops and adult cinemas giving councils new controls.
Enfield Council in North London - which has banned the clubs despite never having had any - passed a motion last month under the slogan "no sex please, we're Enfield" stating that it would not allow any new venues.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... doubt.html
AAG
ok schools and residential areas i can go with but places of worship ?????
i assume this to mean mosques as councils try not to upset our so called muslim enrichers.
it is my belief that the councils have too many powers anyway
powers which where passed from central government to councils making them local governments.
surely this can only push strip clubs underground as another part of the entertainment industry goes in to decline.
the girls are well treated and safe in these clubs some of which are students who do this to support themselves during studies.
admitidly the punters are either men looking for good entertainment or male party,s on a night out stag night etc who frequent these clubs or business men who take their clients to these clubs in a bid to get that big contract.
so what happens from here do these girls carry on dancing in seedy underground venues or risk escorting from their own or their pimps flat.
so does this mean that seedy soho clubs will also have their licences refused i doubt it very much as the industry is worth too much to london especially with the 2012 games coming up.
i had a little breakypoos over xmas and ready to dig the dirt from 2011 to 2012.
LAP dancing clubs face the axe as councils use new hardline laws to strip their towns of the bars.
Town halls across the country are at varying stages of changing the licensing laws to force the clubs to close.
Up to 10 councils have already opted for "nil" policies, which will automatically refuse applications for any new venues.
Deciding factors include proximity to schools, places of worship and residential areas.
Anna van Heeswijk, of the feminist pressure group Object, said: "Putting a nil limit is part of ensuring the safety of women. It's part of a council's responsibility. It's an issue of local democracy."
In Tower Hill, east London, council chiefs are waiting for the result of a public consultation which proposes that the 11 clubs in the borough are all in unsuitable areas.
Meanwhile, in Leicester three strip joints were denied licences last week.
And in the City of London, the strict rules meant the only club in the area did not apply for a licence.
The Government commissioned a £100,000 study in October to research the effect of strip clubs on communities.
But Professor Phil Hubbard, of the University of Kent, who is carrying out the study, warned The Times: "The sex industry will never go away.
"Even pressure that's pushed it back has never made it go away. The fact that people find it distasteful doesn't mean you can criminalise it."
He said that a system was being created for lap dancing clubs under which in "some areas it will be legal and not others".
Up to 300 venues exist in Britain and many opened after a change in the licensing law in 2003 that created a "loophole" allowing clubs to be opened in much the same way as a cafe or karaoke bar, with little recourse.
In 2009 the law rebranded lap dancing, pole dancing and strip clubs as "sex entertainment venues" - similar to sex shops and adult cinemas giving councils new controls.
Enfield Council in North London - which has banned the clubs despite never having had any - passed a motion last month under the slogan "no sex please, we're Enfield" stating that it would not allow any new venues.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... doubt.html
AAG
ok schools and residential areas i can go with but places of worship ?????
i assume this to mean mosques as councils try not to upset our so called muslim enrichers.
it is my belief that the councils have too many powers anyway
powers which where passed from central government to councils making them local governments.
surely this can only push strip clubs underground as another part of the entertainment industry goes in to decline.
the girls are well treated and safe in these clubs some of which are students who do this to support themselves during studies.
admitidly the punters are either men looking for good entertainment or male party,s on a night out stag night etc who frequent these clubs or business men who take their clients to these clubs in a bid to get that big contract.
so what happens from here do these girls carry on dancing in seedy underground venues or risk escorting from their own or their pimps flat.
so does this mean that seedy soho clubs will also have their licences refused i doubt it very much as the industry is worth too much to london especially with the 2012 games coming up.