Prudery Regeneration Committee…MSPs moralise about distinguishing between the ‘right’ kind of nudity enjoyed by cultured theatre goers vs the ‘wrong’ kind of nudity enjoyed by uncultured strip club goers

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See  article from  scotsman.com

Theatre productions that contain nudity will be exempt new repressive licensing laws covering sexual entertainment, the Scottish ‘Justice’ Secretary has said.Michael Matheson moved to reassure MSPs that the proposed new licensing regime will not impact on artistic freedom of expression on the stage enjoyed by the cultural elite. Holyrood’s Local Government and Prudery Regeneration Committee has heard that measures in the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill could have an inadvertent impact on risque shows. The Bill would allow local authorities to ban sexual entertainment venues in an area. Jon Morgan, director of the Federation of Scottish Theatre, told the committee last month that this could affect performances at the Edinburgh Festival which contain nudity or explore issues such as pornography. His concerns were raised by independent MSP John Wilson, who asked Mr Matheson to give theatres an assurance that they would be exempt from the legislation. We’ve heard in evidence as a committee from theatre group representatives who were concerned that they may be impacted upon in terms of their artistic expression by some vexatious complaints or other individuals using the legislation as proposed to shut down certain theatre productions. Matheson said: I think it’s a fair point to be raised and a reasonable concern for some establishments to actually have. That is why we’re going to take forward some guidance in order to give some specific direction around this area about the types of premises and circumstances that would be exempt in these circumstances, so that could be for example a theatre production that does involve some nudity in it for a particular performance or series of performances that they are operating.

Any old bollox excuse…Ealing Council rejects lap dancing licence for new club in an industrial area

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See  article from  sevlicensing.wordpress.com

Not widely reportedit appears, but an application for a new Table dancing club in Actonwas rejected last week by Ealing Council on supposed grounds of ‘locality’.Ealing’s policy for sex establishments only identifies Acton Town Centre as suitable for a club, and the residential districts as unsuitable. Refusing a licence on grounds of being in an industrial area rather smacks of a morality decision, with only a nearby leisure centre as a straw to cling to.

Morality Based Licensing…Scottish parliamentary committee hears about the effects of arbitrary state censorship laws used to control lap dancing in England

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See  article from  glasgowsouthandeastwoodextra.co.uk See  article from  sevlicensing.wordpress.com

Scotland’s new Licensing (Scotland) Bill iscurrently being discussed by the Scottish Parliament. A committee invited Professor Phil Hubbard, whohas been following such issues, to speak about the experiences in England where similar control laws have been in place for some time.He spoke of the expenses incurred by councils when their morality based decisions to ban table dancing clubs are formally challenged in the courts. Hubbard noted that a one-size-fits-all policy for all Scottish councils would prevent the farcical situation in England and Wales where one council’s decision to refuse a strip club licence can be successfully challenged – at great expense to the council – because a neighbouring council is more liberal. National guidelines should be set on licensing fees – which range from £300 to £26,000 down south – and the amount of nudity permitted on show, he told Holyrood’s Local Government Committee. National guidelines were backed by the women’s anti lap dancing campaign group,  Zero Tolerance. But the strip clubs’ trade association warned against central government imposing a draconian regime on councils, arguing that the ban on religious comedy Life Of Brian in Glasgow or the ban on cult French porn movie Emmanuelle in some rural cinemas demonstrates the diverse moral sensibilities in Scotland’s communities which should be respected. Hubbard said: I think the introduction of the Police And Crime Act 2009 in the UK was by and large farcical in terms of the way it was allowed to proceed. What we have in England and Wales is a situation that I would like to see avoided in Scotland, where we have a licensing regime for these establishments in one local authority but not in a neighbouring one. Fees for these establishments range from £300 to £26,000. We have a situation where some local authorities will ban nudity and others will not. The whole situation has led to a whole range of appeal cases and litigation in which legal unreasonableness and inconsistency have been raised as valid concerns, and some of these appeals have been upheld. It has created a great deal of anxiety, expenditure and time for local authorities who have been left to evolve policies of their own. He didn’t appear to mention much about the suffocating uncertainty and the effects of arbitrary moral censorship on businesses trying to make a living.

Birmingham’s Reputation…Council imposes a cap of 8 on city centre table dancing clubs

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Thanks to Trog See  article from  birminghammail.co.uk

Birmingham City Council has imposed a cap of eight lap dancing clubs in Birmingham city centre, saying they will allow no more to open.The council’s licensing committee claimed there are fears that any more strip clubs, particularly in the Broad Street and pub and club areas, would lead to the city getting a sleazy reputation [to go with its reputation for letting schools get out of control?]. Four years ago the committee decided not to set a limit on sexual entertainment venues, but now opinions have changed and they have decided to impose a limit of eight within the city centre ring road, the current number. There have been as many as 12 active strip club licences in Birmingham, although not all businesses were active at the same time. Coun Gareth Moore (Cons, Erdington) threatened a further reduction, albeit without closing down operating clubs: Reducing it further would not be fair on existing businesses which have been operating for a number of years given us no problems. If a sexual entertainment venue were to go out of business, we could then consider reducing the cap further.

Inappropriate location of the toilets…Scarborough council turns down table dancing licence application

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See article from scarborough.gov.uk

Scarborough Borough Council’s Licensing Committee has refused an application for a sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licence at Chic Bar in Scarborough.The application for the venue on the first floor of the bar, referred to as Little Black Book , was unanimously refused on the basis that the layout and character of the premises was inappropriate for use as a SEV as set out in the application. The committee cited the lack of central location for facilities for dancers as one of the reasons for refusal as areas spread across the premises would mean dancers regularly having to move from place to place via parts of the building open to members of the public. Other reasons included lack of a smoking area for customers and staff, which would mean dancers having to stand with the public in the alleyway outside the premises in order to smoke, and the inappropriate location of toilets for customers, which would result in female (and sometimes male) customers having to use a restricted staircase under supervision or leave the premises in order to re-enter the premises on the ground 99 representations from members of the public were made against the application but the majority of these did not demonstrate any statutory grounds for refusal under the formal licensing process and therefore the committee could not take these into account when reaching its decision. The applicant now has 21 days to appeal.

Moral Victory…Table dancing licence reinstated after Judicial Review of Chester’s council decision to close down Platinum Lounge

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See  article from  chesterfirst.co.uk

Chester’s table-dancing club has won a High Court appeal against a council decision to close it down.Platinum Lounge, had its licence revoked by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s licensing committee last September for no real reason. The committee claimed that the nightclub, which has been open since 2005 without incident, was somehow too close to residential properties. The committee ruled that where Platinum Lounge was situated was no longer suitable due to an increase of 94 in the number of people living nearby. The High Court judge ruled Cheshire West and Chester Council violated its own constitution when it refused to renew the licence of a lap-dancing club in the city’s historic heart. Mr Justice Stuart-Smith overturned the committee’s decision on the sole ground it was taken in breach of the council’s constitution. He said it was clear the decision should have been taken by a three-member sub-committee, rather than the full committee of 15: It is clear beyond argument that the constitution said and meant that Bridgerow’s renewal application should have been decided by a panel of three members, drawn from the full committee on a politically proportionate basis. Equally clearly, that is not what happened. Unfortunately the judge seemed to confirm that the council bollox that 94 new nearby residents was enough to close down an established business with a staff of 40. He commented that the reasons given by the committee: while they could have been fuller and could have been more clearly expressed — were perfectly comprehensible. The club has had its licence reinstated until a new renewal application is considered.

The government said we had to have a policy so we banned them…Bolton Council bans new table dancing venues and sex shops

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See article from theboltonnews.co.uk

Bolton Council havea approved a new policy effectively banning new table dancing clubs and sex shops.Under the guidelines pole dancing clubs, strip shows and sex cinemas will not be allowed to open near schools, houses, parks, tourist attractions, religious buildings or any existing entertainment venues. Cllr Nick Peel, the member in charge of licensing, said in reality it means new applicants looking to open a sexual entertainment venue in Bolton will find it very difficult. He said: The criteria doesn’t really leave much left in terms of areas. We have not been overrun with sex applications — it just doesn’t happen — but the government said we had to have a policy. Existing establishments will probably be okay with the new rules, as this is not retrospective and they will continue to apply for the licences every year in the usual way.

Deeper Blues…Judge rules that thinly veiled morality grounds are sufficient for Leeds Council to close table dancing clubs

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See article from sevlicensing.wordpress.com See article from yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk See article from john-gaunt.co.uk See court judgement [pdf] from john-gaunt.co.uk

The two clubs (Wildcats and Deep Blue) which appealed against Leeds City Council’s decision not to renew their licence have failed to have this decision overturned at Judicial Review.The decision confirms that the discretion available to local authorities to refuse renewal or initial license consent is very wide, and that restrictive policies can still be justified so long as there is a clear justification given. The SEV Licensing Blog tellingly asks: Which takes us back to the crux of the matter: who defines what is in the general public interest? Are local authorities consulting adequately to ensure different publics have their views felt? Do we trust Licensing Committees to balance the interests of the general public with the rights of those who want to run a legitimate business? These questions are rhetorical, but need to be asked repeatedly given it is now clear that SEV legislation gives total power to local authorities to ban lap dance clubs in their locality so long as they justify that ban with reference to the public interest. Meanwhile Wildcats is refusing to admit defeat and has launched a fresh challenge in the courts. Owner Paul Gourlay said: We are disappointed to hear that we have lost our judicial review of Leeds City Council’s decision to remove our license. We challenged the decision based on the council’s new policy, that was taken despite the club having no complaints, disturbance issues or any kind of problem in the 12 months from the licence being granted in 2012. The club’s new challenge will focus on the way the council drew up its policy on lapdancing clubs which banned them from prominent areas and limited the total number in the city to four. Gourlay said the move had been: Driven on moral grounds by a select few and this is firmly against the government’s legislation on this matter. It is our view that the vast majority of people couldn’t care what we do. We are a law abiding business, employing people and paying taxes, I continue to be at a loss to understand the council’s behaviour. We will fight on and hope that we can win our case and make the council see sense.

Paradise in Birmingham…8 letters ‘pour in’ objecting to a 4th table dancing venue in Birmingham’s pubs and clubs area

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20th January 2014. See article from birminghampost.co.uk

Plans for a fourth lap dancing club in Birmingham’s pubs and clubs area have been greeted by moralist objections.8 letters have ‘poured in’ opposing the Broad Street venue, called Paradise, from businesses, the Repertory Theatre and an MP There are currently three established lap dancing clubs on the road, with the Rocket and Cyclone nightspots vying for trade with Legs 11. The company behind the latest plan already runs two similar clubs in Manchester and submitted an application for a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence in November. Ladywood Labour MP Shabana Mahmood ludicrously claimed without any evidence whatsoever: This application for a SEV, if successful would drastically change the nature of the locality, especially as there are currently three other SEV’s on Broad Street. A fourth club would be a further indication that Broad Street was becoming the red light district area in Birmingham. Update: Unbroadened Minds 21st January 2013. Thanks to Alan What planet do these people live on? Broad Street is a boozing area, full of piss artists mingling with punters from the Rep, Symphony Hall and the NIA. One more lap dancing joint isn’t going to make a scrap of difference. Update: Moralists prevail 14th February 2013. See article from birminghammail.co.uk Moralist councillors rejected an application by Eutony Limited to open the venue, which would have been called Paradise, after a handful of objectors raised unevidenced concerns about Broad Street supposedly becoming a red light district akin to Soho in London. There are already three strip clubs on Broad Street; Legs 11, Cyclone and the Rocket Club, and there were supposed fears that a fourth would change the dynamics of the area ., Birmingham’s nightlife and bar quarter. Eutony pledged to take the matter further, saying that moral objections were not a valid reason for refusal. Councillor Barbara Dring, chairwoman of the Licensing and Public Protection Committee, spewed: Members were of the opinion that it would be inappropriate to grant the licence having regard to the character of the relevant locality being Broad Street, due to the close vicinity of family orientated activities, entertainment, providing hotels, restaurants and family accommodation. A spokesman for Eutony said: The decision to reject our application on the grounds that the character of the area ie Broad Street is not suitable is in our opinion most unjust in view of the fact that three other lap-dancing clubs exist on the street. It is accepted that lap dancing venues are inherently safe and parliament has enacted legislation to regulate an industry where it recognizes a legitimate demand. Moral objections are not for consideration. Our proposal was to convert derelict upper floors of a broad street property into a thriving nighttime business employing 15 permanent staff and bring this property back to life and contribute to the councils purse as a business ratepayer. We are accepting legal advice with respect to moving the matter to the high court for a judicial review.

Rotten Committees…Spearmint Rhino lose court case against restrictions imposed by a tiny council committee where a husband and wife team were in majority control

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See article from camdennewjournal.com

A district judge has backed the Camden Council’s handling of Spearmint Rhino’s bid for extended hours and more relaxed conditions at its branch in Tottenham Court Road.The company launched an appeal at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court, complaining that it had been harshly treated when a list of requested amendments to its licence was voted down. The club raised concerns that husband and wife Labour councillors Thomas Gardiner and Maryam Eslamdoust had total control of the votes with 2 votes out of 4 plus the casting vote. The club had wanted to lift a list of rules including a ban on dancers drinking at work, a demand to keep the front doors closed and a ban on branded vehicles  outside the venue. The application failed when panel chairman Cllr Gardiner used his casting vote on a dead-locked committee to refuse the changes. The vote had been square at 2-2, with the two members voting against being Cllr Gardiner and Cllr Eslamdoust. When the case came to court just before Christmas, however, district judge Robin McPhee said no rules had been broken. He said: There is of course nothing inherently wrong in a husband and wife, or any civil partners, both being elected councillors to the same council. Such a situation is a frequent occurrence. With such a small committee it might have been better to avoid the situation which arose because it has given cause and a basis for comment. The efficacy of an evenly numbered committee is questionable but is certainly permissible.