By Lucy Phillips
12 February 2010
Councils are to be given powers to curb the number of lap-dancing clubs in their area, the government announced today.
From April 6, local authorities can choose to adopt the legislation, part of the Policing and Crime Act 2009, which will allow them to force lap-dancing venues to apply for a sex establishment licence. They will also be able set a cap on the number of clubs in an area.
The Home Office said the rules would ensure local people were given the opportunity to oppose an application for a lap-dancing club. ‘If people don’t want to have a sleazy lap-dancing club in their neighbourhood, they shouldn’t be forced to have one, which is why we’re changing the law so local people can object and say “we don’t want this in our area” because it’s a sex establishment,’ added minister for women and equality Harriet Harman.
The Local Government Association welcomed the new powers, which it said would close a loophole in the 2003 Licensing Act, which put lap-dancing clubs in the same category as bars and cafes.
Chris White, chair of the LGA’s culture, tourism and sport board, added: ‘The existence of a very large number of lap-dancing clubs in a small area does have consequences for people who live and work there. It is a victory for common sense that councils will now be able to take the existence of other such venues into account when considering applications’.
Existing venues will be allowed a year in which to apply for a licence after the rules come into effect.
