Councillors agree policy in move towards lap dancing club ban in Blackpool

A move towards phasing out lap dancing clubs in Blackpool has been approved by councillors – but a call for an immediate ban was ruled out.
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The council’s licensing committee agreed a new policy which would permit only one sex shop to trade, and set a zero limit on lap dancing clubs.

The resort’s existing four clubs can continue operating under their ‘grandfather rights’ but once existing licences lapse, for any reason, they would not be renewed.

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Coun Peter Hunter told the meeting he would prefer to see all four clubs and the town’s one trading sex shop on Foxhall Road closed down without delay.

Town hall chiefs have agreed the first stage of the new policyTown hall chiefs have agreed the first stage of the new policy
Town hall chiefs have agreed the first stage of the new policy

He suggested the council should not “grant grandfather rights to the four existing establishments because we could be stuck with them forever and a day.”

He added: “To me these venues are very, very seedy in the extreme and quite frankly, I don’t want to see them in Blackpool at all.

“I don’t want to see them in any town, but especially not Blackpool which is a family holiday resort.”

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But Coun Neal Brookes warned the clubs could go underground if they were told to shut down all at once.

He said currently the council had “some measure of control over these venues” and could “look after the people who are in there.”

Coun Brookes said he also did not want sex clubs in a family resort, but warned: “If we don’t have a licensed venue, we run the risk of it going underground.”

Licensing chiefs say the move to phase out the clubs also reflects Blackpool’s support of the White Ribbon campaign to reduce violence towards women.

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The committee approved the policy which will now go out to public consultation for eight weeks, before coming back to the committee for a final decision.

The revised policy means clubs, which are currently closed under Covid restrictions, would be re-licensed providing they comply with legislation and licence conditions.

However once a licence lapses, is revoked, surrendered, or otherwise not renewed, the grandfather rights would be lost.

New applications would still be considered but with the zero policy in place, it would be much more difficult to have a licence granted.

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Other changes within the revised policy include tighter controls over how dances are paid for, and a ban on dancers taking mobile phones into performance areas.

CCTV must be able to store recordings for a minimum of 21 days.

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