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  Bromley Nutters

Based on an article from the News Shopper

Darker Enterprises Limited (Private Shops) has applied for a sex establishment licence for the empty premises opposite Connexions on London Road, Bromley.

The inevitable nutters say that the two-storey site is inappropriate for a shop selling porn videos, hardcore magazines and sex toys because mums and young children regularly use the route to get to a nearby Nursery School in nearby Blythe Road.

A petition against the sex shop is being drawn up by businesses in the area which have until January 11 to air their views to Bromley Council's chief environmental health officer.

Gill Wallis, who runs the nursery school, said: We'll certainly be objecting to it. I don't think it's right to have that sort of shop near a nursery which takes 120 children. It's the type of people they attract.

Darker Enterprises Limited owns 94 shops, which have no window display, including one in Lewisham Road, Lewisham, and another due to open soon in Woolwich High Street.

Bromley Council has already received objections from churches in the area and says all comments will be considered before a decision is made in the New Year.

  Derry Play the Trumped Up Card

From the Belfast Telegraph

The owner of Londonderry's only sex shop today warned Derry City Council that its plans to shut him down could open the floodgates for illicit porn entering the city.

Ian Brown, owner of Bliss (formerly Fantasy), vowed to use a month-long stay of execution, granted today, to build a case for retaining his Waterloo Street business. And he said he was prepared to mortgage his house to set up a war chest to fight the council decision.

A report from the office of town clerk and chief executive Anthony McGurk, however, has recommended that the shop's licence be refused as the number of sex establishments the council considered appropriate for the locality was nil.

The matter was due to raised before today's environmental services licensing committee. It has now been postponed, however, to enable Mr Brown to fully prepare his case.

The proprietor said today he has been left reeling over the council's plans to pull the shutters on him after two-and-a-half years of operating a regulated business. He warned: The demand will not just disappear. This will just create an under-counter demand for porn. This council is depriving its citizens of its human right to choose and that is a very dangerous line to go down. They are acting like the censors of the censors.

City secretary and solicitor Damien McMahon has reported to the town clerk: Following discussion it was resolved that council indicate its intention to refuse the application for a licence of a sex establishment at premises known as 'Bliss', and the applicant Mr Brown be invited to show cause why it should not be refused. It is inappropriate to grant the application, having regard to the character of the relevant locality, the use to which any premises in the vicinity are put, the layout and character or condition of the premises concerned."

The case is now expected to be heard on January 19

  Chasing Nutters

From the Express & Star

A new sex shop which has opened near to homes on the outskirts of Cannock. Dark Sensations, in Bridgtown, had a grand opening on Saturday.

The showroom sells rubber, leather, and PVC clothing, as well as lingerie and adult novelties.

Village councillors say Cannock Chase District Council failed to notify them of Dark Sensations' opening. The premises on Chapel Works, East Street, has had a change of use from industrial to retail. Councillor Eddie Smith, chairman of Bridgtown Parish Council, said they would be writing to Cannock Chase Council to express their concerns.

He was backed by Cannock Chase Councillor Janos Toth, who said that the shop should have been located outside the centre of the village of Bridgtown. Councillor Smith said: The parish council should have been notified about this. I don't think the location is right. It is just not in the right place. I don't think the area needs another sex shop. There is already one in Heath Hayes. The position of the shop is just wrong. This should have been located at an industrial estate away from residential homes.

Matt Heward, owner of Dark Sensations, said: We class Dark Sensations as a fantasy store - an upmarket Ann Summers. We don't sell porn videos or magazines. This is not a sleazy store. We have all sorts of people come in here - many from the village itself. We have been manufacturing at the East Street site for some time but decided to open a showroom due to demand. Our site is central in Bridgtown but we are not immediately close to any residential homes. I just cannot see the problem.

  Lust in Ludlow

From the Shropshire Star

Ludlow could be getting its first ever mail order sex shop selling a range of toys. Stuart Nicholas Britton wants to open the mail delivery company, called Lust for Adults, on Ludlow's business park, off Coeder Road.

If allowed the shop would stock a range of products including sex toys, lingerie and gadgets. But Lust for Adults would not be a retail shop, it would be a strict mail order company only.

Britton is expected to apply to South Shropshire District Council for a sex establishment licence in the next few days.

Alan Procter, licensing officer, said: This is the first time the council will have ever received an application like this. If granted it would be strictly as a mail order company - in other words the public would not be able to walk around and buy products. Nobody would even know the business was there.

  Rights abuse in Dodgy Derry

From the Derry Journal

The owner of a sex shop in Derry has vowed to go to the European Court to be allowed to continue selling adult products in the city.

Ian Brown promised to drag Derry City Council through the legal system after he was refused a licence for his premises in Waterloo Street.

He said: We are obviously disappointed at the decision but are not surprised. However, we will fight on against council members who are denying the human right of choice.

The shop is now facing closure after local councillors dismissed Mr. Brown's application on the grounds that his shop was in an inappropriate location. The Council also said it had received complaints from traders nearby.

But Brown said: We have spoke to the vast majority of traders in Waterloo Street and all have either endorsed the shop or said they had no objections. It is time council listened to the people of this town instead of wasting rate payers money to satisfy their own moral conscience. People want this store, the traders want this store and Waterloo Street needs this store."

I have one month to appeal this decision and lay out my stall as to why I think it is wrong. When they turn me down again, which they will, then I will drag this matter through the courts. I will seek a judicial review. If I lose that I will go to the Court of Appeal and the European Court if I have to. By that stage Derry City Council will have to fork out more than £100,000 to fight the case. As well as this waste of tax payers' money 18 people will be directly out of a job if the council get its way."

He added: Our customers are not happy. One gay fella I spoke to is seriously considering taking a civil case against the Council. He is being denied his right of choice. He and others like him have a right to buy adult goods in their home town. Now they are now being told they have to travel to England for the same privilege. It's discrimination.

From the Belfast Telegraph

Council chiefs in Londonderry were today faced with the prospect of a protracted legal battle over their decision to refuse a licence to the city's only sex shop.

Members of the council's environmental services committee yesterday voted to refuse an application for a licence for the Bliss store at Waterloo Street, claiming that the store was not the type of outlet they wished to see in that area.

However, store owner Ian Brown today claimed that more than 16,000 people had signed a petition to keep the store open and vowed, if necessary, to take his fight to overturn the council's decision as far as the European Court of Appeal.

Yesterday's decision came more than two years after Bliss, formerly known as Fantasy, first opened its doors in May 2002.

The opening of the store provoked a wave of publicity but, at the time, Mr Brown insisted that he did not mean to cause any offence and stressed that the shop would be strictly regulated and would only sell goods to over 18s.

Shortly after the store opened, Derry City Council introduced new legislation to control the number of sex shops and cinemas within its jurisdiction.

Brown applied for a licence under the new legislation but a decision on the Derry store was deferred until a bid for a judicial review into an earlier decision by North Down District Council to refuse him a licence to open a sex shop in Bangor had been heard.

His application for a judicial review into the Bangor decision was dismissed by the High Court in September.

Speaking after the latest blow to his business plans, Brown today said he would be launching a legal challenge to Derry City Council's decision. We did expect this decision, but the fight goes on.

During yesterday's meeting, Brown presented councillors with a petition which, he claimed, contained the signatures of more than 16,000 people who wanted to see Bliss remain open.

And he also alleged that he had the support of the vast majority of traders in the Waterloo Street area. If there was no demand for our products there would be no need for the shop, Our customers are normal people representing all aspects of our community. We are experienced retailers who wish to service that demand and operate our business in a responsible and open manner.

Based on an article from the Rotherham Advertiser

Nutters have joined forces with local councillors to oppose the opening of another sex shop in Rotherham. More than 200 signatures have been collected on a petition objecting to the possible opening of the town centre store.

Derby man Jon Foster gave notice in the Advertiser of October 29 of his intention to apply for a licence to use premises at 119 Wellgate as a "sex establishment."

Cllr Mahroof Hussain, who represents some of Rotherham Borough Council's Boston Castle ward, is helping to collect signatures for a petition protesting about the establishment.
As the Advertiser went to press around 200 protesters had signed it.

Jon Foster—the man behind the plan—said the outlet would be similar to an Ann Summers shop.
A council spokeswoman confirmed that no licence application had yet been received for the Wellgate establishment, but Mr Foster said he expected to finalise the application as the Advertiser went to press.

Based on an article from ic Berkshire

A 20 year old decision preventing sex shops opening and selling hardcore pornography in slough's main shopping areas could be retracted next week.

A company which owns more than 85 sex shops nationwide has applied to Slough Borough Council to open a branch in Farnham Road. Darker Enterprises Ltd has asked for standard conditions to be relaxed so they can trade on Sundays from 10am-4pm and until 8pm in the week.

The council decided in 1984 that sex shops were inappropriate in all wards except for Chalvey, where a shop already existed.

However, when the council's licensing committee decides the bid next Thursday, they will have to consider if the resolution is outdated. But the move has angered some religious nutters.

Art Cunningham, pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in neighbouring Hampshire Avenue, said: An establishment like Darker Enterprises, selling sexually explicit material and promoting perverted sexual fantasies, hurts our community. We oppose this establishment on those grounds

If permission is granted, the shop at 165 Farnham Road will become the second licensed sex shop in Slough - the other, Cupid, is in Windsor Road.

At present, 165 is a store called 'Private Lines'. A hand-printed sign on the door says under 18s cannot enter and warns the material inside is what some may consider 'indecent'.

Based on an article from ic Wales

A 16 year old boy is to open a drugs paraphernalia and adult video store in Wales. The store in Swansea will be run by Antony Manca, who has until now been living with his father Piet in Spain.

Mr Manca (senior) hit the headlines earlier this year after being fined £4,000 with £7,000 costs for selling X-rated videos from his Little Amsterdam shop in Neath. The Neath store, operating opposite Cabinet MP Peter Hain's constituency office has now re-opened after a period of closure.

Manca said yesterday he was appealing against convictions for supplying and possessing unclassified videos and DVDs. He added he was helping his teenage son Antony establish another Little Amsterdam store in King Edward Road, Swansea. Although he is only 16, Antony is legally allowed to run the shop, which does not have the same over-18s rule as licensed sex shops.

Companies House in Cardiff confirmed there was no age limit for company directors.

Peter May, a Swansea not so Liberal Democrat councillor who lives a few hundred yards from the proposed Swansea store, said, I'm absolutely disgusted. It goes against everything we have been working for in this area. A shop selling drug paraphernalia even though it may meet legal requirements is the very last thing we need. I will be speaking closely to council officers to look into this new business very closely. Quite frankly I find it alarming that a 16-year-old is due to run it.

Manca said yesterday his son would be opening the store in a former antiques shop, so there has been no need for an application for change of use. We have spoken to licensing officers and everything will comply with regulations and with the law."

Manca now runs a web site in Spain from which he sells drug paraphernalia, "various sex objects", adult videos and DVDs.There are more liberal laws in Spain and if transactions are done outside the UK we can get around local restrictions. Antony will be promoting the web site in the new Swansea store as well as selling things like cannabis seeds and growing equipment.

Manca says he plans to open a Little Amsterdam store in Cardiff next year.The shops are popular with the public but not with the authorities. I was supported by the Federation of Small Businesses over the Neath videos and hope to win on appeal.

From the BBC

US pornography magnate Larry Flynt says he wants to open 10 sex shops across the UK over the next few years. Flynt was speaking as he launched his first British outlet in Birmingham city centre.

The Hustler Hollywood shop is located on Birmingham High Street, next door to Boots and opposite Marks & Spencer. The 6,000sq ft Birmingham shop and cafe stocks products including lingerie, sex toys, body oils, scented candles, novelties for hen and stag nights, Hustler branded clothing, books and jewellery. It doesn't apparently stock any R18 videos/DVDs

Flynt claims it is the largest sex product outlet in the UK, and urged the UK public not to prejudge his stores without trying them first. It is decked out in velvet and leopard skin print with the more adult material displayed in walk-in pods, hidden from the view of the passing public.

Hustler hopes the outlet will stimulate "sex wars on the high street" and rival existing main street sex shop chain Ann Summers. People are always apprehensive when we open a store because they have all kinds if visions, like we are opening a brothel or something," said Flynt.  That's not what Hustler is about.

The Hollywood Hustler stores were conceived by Mr Flynt's daughter Theresa Flynt-Gaerke.
She added that what differentiated it from Ann Summers was that "we target couples, Ann Summers targets women, it's a very different experience."

Hustler hopes to establish 10 stores across the UK by 2012 and has plans to open its next branches in London's Covent Garden, Nottingham and Cardiff.

Hustler Hollywood's UK project manager, Roger Ede, said it cost £4.7m ($8.6m) to open the Birmingham store and that it was projected to take £2.5m in its first year.

From IC South London

A sex shop is set to open in Woolwich after councillors granted a licence for premises in the high street. Thursday's meeting of the licensing sub-committee gave the go-ahead for the shop opposite the Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Rev Stephen Hammond, of the Christian People's Alliance, spoke against the plans at the meeting and said it was a sad day for the people of Woolwich He said: I was quite shocked to see that the only thing the members of the sub-committee were interested in was whether the shop would meet the needs of the Disability Discrimination Act and also that the shop signage should reflect the other shops in the same street.

Under the 1982 Local Government Act councillors are unable to refuse the application on moral grounds. There were eight objections to the proposal and Mr Hammond presented a petition opposing it signed by 203 people.

A report prepared for councillors stated there were four schools within 700m of the site. The report stated: There does not appear to be a significant number of children from any of the schools mentioned using the street in which the premises are situated as a regular route to or from school.

A lap dancing club had its licence renewed and opening hours extended at the same meeting. The Mermaid Club, at 116-118 Woolwich High Road, will now be able to open until 4am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. At the moment the club opens until 2am seven days a week.

From The Guardian

Now Boots the chemist must be getting nervous - though it has 1,400 stores nationwide, supermarkets such as Tesco and rival high street chemist Superdrug are biting at its heels.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So this week Boots, the family chemist founded in Nottingham in 1849, confirmed it was in discussions with the condom manufacturer Durex to stock sex aids, including vibrators and massage oils.

We have absolutely no immediate plans to sell these products, says a Boots spokesman. The talks are at very early stages, and we have no launch date - it's not not a confirmed range we'll be stocking.

Though such a range could well prove unpopular with older customers, and may also pose problems if the "toys" are to kept away from children, they are likely to attract more female customers to the stores. A recent Durex survey revealed that 49% of Britons own a sex toy, most of them female.

Sex toys are a massive growth industry - due in part to television shows such as Sex and the City and Graham Norton, which have somehow succeeded, like the Henry Higgins of the sex industry, in gentrifying the vibrator. Such items have somehow shaken off the seedy gents in overcoats stigma to become symbols of female sexual liberation. The sex boutique Myla even stocks a vibrator dreamt up by award-winning designer Tom Dixon which had a waiting list of 500 people by the time it was launched.

Ann Summers, the "UK's leading pleasure retailer", last year saw pre-tax profits leap 19% to £8.9m on like-for-like sales up 14%. New store openings by the group, which also boasts the Knickerbox chain, helped the company's turnover grow 33% to £64m in the year to the end of June 2003.

Based on an article from The Express and Star

A sex shop planned for a prestigious Walsall business park has cleared its first hurdle after being granted a licence.

Only planning permission is needed now for the new shop to open on the Town Wharf park in Frederick Street. Moves to open up the shop moved a step closer last night when licensing chiefs granted a licence.

Trevor Cooper, of Angels, told Walsall Council's licensing and safety committee that it would be a similar set-up to Ann Summers although additional items such as DVDs and videos would also be available.

Most of its trade would be customers visiting the shop although an internet site would be set up for people wanting to order items online. Cooper has run a similar establishment in Tamworth for a number of years.

He said he would like to open the Walsall shop in the next few months providing he can secure planning permission to convert the industrial unit. He said: I know some people have their doubts but over the past seven years we have run a similar establishment in Tamworth without any problems and I think there is a demand for this type of place in Walsall.

The shop would be open six days a week from 10am to 6pm.

No objections were received to the plans although St Matthews ward councillor Mohammed Arif, who is not on the licensing committee, has stated that it could deter other companies from moving on to the business park.

There are currently no sex shops operating in the town. In recent years licences have been granted for adult shops in Bridge Street and Stafford Street but to date the plans have not materialised.

Passion XXX was also granted a licence to open on an industrial estate in Brickyard Road, Aldridge, but planning permission for the retail unit was later refused.

Based on an article from The Scotsman

A sex shop owner’s bid to open a new outlet in the city centre has been rejected by councillors after widespread nutter anger. Nutters were celebrating victory in their fight to prevent entrepreneur Vincent Delicato opening a fully licensed venture in Fountainbridge.

The vacant former cafe he had earmarked for the sex shop is within a few hundred yards from Tollcross Primary and Tollcross Education Centre.

But after extensive questioning at a regulatory committee meeting yesterday, councillors rejected his application on the grounds that there is already an over-provision of similar outlets in the area.

Objectors to the plans have pointed out that the area already has six lap-dancing bars and another sex shop, as well as several saunas.

Nutters were supported at the meeting by Fountainbridge councillor Lorna Shiels, who earlier this week said the sex business has transformed Tollcross into a "no-go area" for women. She said today: I am absolutely delighted. I feel that this is recognition that over-provision is now a consideration."

The business entrepreneur, who already runs sex shops on Drummond Street and Easter Road, said: "The trouble on Lothian Road is not instigated by the sex shops, but by the clubs and pubs. What I am trying to do is open a legitimate business. All our windows are blacked out and we have video cameras at the doors so that children can’t get in. Delicato refused to rule out opening a lingerie shop on the premises.

Based on an article from Get Reading

Reading’s two remaining sex shops on Oxford Road will stay open despite objections from nutters. At a meeting last night, licensing chiefs unanimously granted new licences for both Lovecare and XTC to continue operating and said there was no evidence to link the shops with the area’s drug and prostitution problems. A petition signed by almost 1,500 people was disregarded by the licensing applications committee because it had been received outside the time limit. But committee members admitted they granted the new licences grudgingly because of restrictions put on them by the council’s own policies. Councillor John Ennis said: My view is that these two shops contribute nothing to the Oxford Road community. They add to a lower demeanour and I would refuse on moral grounds. But they are acting within the law and the reasons for refusal would be seen as tenuous. Pastor Yinka Oyekan, who campaigned against the shops staying, had earlier told the committee that their presence was “degrading” to the community. The committee had been told earlier that it must give “correct weight” to the fact that licences for both shops had been granted in previous years. The council’s Safe Night Out policy says that only one sex shop may operate in any one commercial area and that the impact on the character of the local area must be considered. However, it also specifies that moral and religious reasons may not be used as reasons for refusal. Jed Bayley and Russell Tyler, owners of Lovecare and XTC, had earlier told the committee they had traded in the area long before the problems with drugs and prostitution arose and there was “no suggestion whatsoever” that their presence had anything to do with it. Battle ward councillor Tony Jones, who withdrew his earlier objection to both sex shop licences and had urged the committee to renew just one, said after the meeting: We are really disappointed. But we have exhausted all the legal avenues. We simply have to concede that there will be two sex shops.” Councillor Bet Tickner, who chairs the licensing applications committee, said: The committee found no evidence to suggest there is any link between the drug fuelled sex trade and the two licences sex shops in the Oxford Road. Having considered all the evidence,we feel there is no reason for refusing to renew the licences of both shops which have operated in the locality for many years. Lovecare opened in 1970 and XTC was taken over by the present owner 10 years ago. A third Oxford Road sex shop was closed down by the council last year.

According to them anyway.

Based on an article from ic Cheshire

A sex shop owner has slammed 'the Victorian attitudes of a minority' after councillors blocked his plans to open a new store in Albert Road. Stephen Wesley says he has been left 'devastated' by the decision to refuse him a licence to sell sex toys, lingerie and films to adults in Widnes.That's five months of hard work down the pan and we feel the council have done the people of Widnes a huge injustice by not giving them the freedom of choice, Mr Wesley later told the World.This Victorian attitude of a minority of people has forced the issue by striking fear into people's minds about what this is about and the decision has been taken away from the public. It is 2004 but these people are Victorian! Why can't they just live and let live? Wesley's application for a sex shop licence was rejected by Halton Council's regulatory committee on Monday night. Seven protesters attending the meeting at Runcorn Town Hall heard the Albert Road premises were too close to schools, houses, churches and day centres. Delighted prayer group nutter, Terence Burns,said afterwards: The character of the area has been preserved and if he applies again we will oppose him again. And Cathy Miller of nearby Eric Street, added: We had God on our side. But a shell-shocked Wesley, who owns similar adult shops in Boston and Grantham, said he was a legitimate businessman who deserved to be trusted. He said: Councils in other areas have always listened to our ideals and shown trust in us which we've always repaid with the business we bring in and the lawful way we conduct it. We are just a shop, a legal retail shop, just like a shoe shop, and we should be treated the same as everyone else. We were going to spend £25,000 revamping the shop in an area earmarked for regeneration and employ two local people to run it but now we will have to look somewhere else." A council spokesperson said Mr Wesley had no right of appeal but could reapply at a cost of £800.

Based on an article from The Scotsman

Plans to open Edinburgh’s latest sex shop near a primary school have stirred the local nutters. Community leaders, teaching staff and parents are preparing to fight the move by entrepreneur Vince Delicato to open his third fully licensed venture in Fountainbridge.

The vacant shop he has earmarked for the venture is less than a minute’s walk from Tollcross Primary. More than 140 signatures have been collected for a petition protesting against the plans for what would be the sixth licensed sex shop in Edinburgh.

The usual bollox claims abound: "wholly inappropriate"; fears about the sort of customers the sex shop would attract; over-run with lap-dancing clubs etc.  Labour politicians Chris Wigglesworth and Lorna Shiels are the reported bollox spewers.

Delicato, who recently joined forces with the owner of a West End lap-dancing club to open Scotland’s first pornographic cinema, is still trying to open a licensed sex shop in the Gorgie area. Delicato said his two existing sex shops - on Easter Road and Drummond Street - operated "without any problems". There is no justification in complaining about parents and children walking past the sex shop as the entire frontage of it is blanked out. I’m applying to run a perfectly legal business.

Councillors are expected to discuss the licensing application on Friday.

Based on an article from ic Cheshire

Nearly 2,000 nutters have voiced their whinges over a proposed sex shop.

Five sets of petitions were submitted to Halton Borough Council after the Weekly News revealed Stephen Wesley had applied for a sex shop licence at 119 Albert Road.

In a 26-point objection, protesters said the shop would be bad for the image of town as well as attracting sex offenders and increasing the risk of crime.

Wesley claims the sex shop is appropriate. He said: 'The premise is currently an empty unit. If a licence were to be granted we would be looking to negotiate a two-year lease and completely refurbish the property.

Among some of the goods which are proposed to be sold under the authority of a licence are described in the application as marital aids, lingerie, VHS videos and DVDs.

From ic Wales

A sex fair planned for Cardiff has been called off. Both the promoters and Cardiff International Arena, which lodged an application to stage a sex shop next June, have announced they are pulling out in a letter to the city's council.

It has now been abandoned, although the reasons for the about-turn remain unclear, with a spokesman for the CIA saying: The event is no longer going ahead as the client has decided to cancel.

The cancellation comes four years after councillors threw out a request by the Xsensual company for a three-day sex market - complete with strippers and promoting bondage gear, fetish equipment and adult videos and books - at the CIA.

But nutter groups and politicians have welcomed the decision. A spokesman for the Christian Institute - a body which actively campaigned against the sex fair in 2000 - said it was 'delighted' at the decision not to go through with the application.

So the judge was not satisfied the councils were operating a blanket rejection of licences for sex establishments on social or moral or other grounds. He was probably right, it was probably on religious grounds which are hardly moral or social

From The Belfast Telegraph

A ban on sex shops in Belfast and Bangor was upheld in the High Court today.

Belfast City Council and North Down Borough Council both operate a blanket ban on sex shops and their policy was challenged by way of an application for judicial review.

But the applications were dismissed by Mr Justice Weatherup who said he was not satisfied the councils were operating a blanket rejection of licences for sex establishments on social or moral or other grounds.

"Further I am satisfied the respondents (the councils) have established that a fair balance has been struck between the applicants' interests and the public interest," he said.

The challenges were brought by Misbehavin' Ltd in respect of premises at Gresham Street, Belfast, and Ian Brown, who applied for a licence for premises at Bingham Mall, Bangor.

Fighting the Good Fight

Many thanks for the first hand view from Ian Brown, the sex shop owner bringing this case.

Hi Melonfarmers,

My name is Ian Brown, and for two years I have been fighting for Northern Ireland councils anywhere to grant just ONE sex shop licence. I currently trade under the name Fantasy.

Over here councils have been turning down licence applications on the grounds of relevant locality in NI. Part of there 'misc prov' order is that the shop must be 500 yards from a church of or 500 yards from a school. Given the fact that we have been fighting over here on religion for 300 years the chances of being 500 yards from a church IN THIS COUNTRY puts the point 150 yards offshore or in the middle of Logh Neagh! Its very difficult to satisfy the criteria when the 'pass mark' is 110%.

I opened a shop in Bangor and in Derry NI, and have been trading very successfully for two years I have applied for a licence had the application turned down in Bangor, been called, the antichrist, a pervert, and a paedophile, by local council members.

We have no appeal at county court level over here so I have had to take my fight to the High Court under a judicial review.

My arguments among others is article one protocol one under the human rights act. Further that the NI population has the same rights to freedom of choice to use ANY ADULT shop as their counterparts in the UK, AND ARE BEING ILLEGALLY CENSORED BY COUNCILS IN THIS COUNTRY.

Tomorrow 23/09/04 the judgement by Mr Justice Weatherup will be announced.It will not be in our favour, for many reasons, one of which in my opinion is that no judge regardless of the legalities will ever want to be known as the one who allowed licensed sex shops into N.I. Either Bangor or Belfast or wherever.

THE BASIC HUMAN RIGHT OF CHOICE IS BEING DENIED.

On Monday of this week I was on a BBC radio show putting my case, a straw pole was done by text voting, and at one point the vote to allow sex shop licences into NI WAS 2/1, this announcement by the radio show host prompted a surge by the good christians of this ill fated isle of ours but they still couldn't turn the vote it ended up 52% for 48% against. Which in my opinion is a resounding success, the fact that the faceless buyers of the general public actually stood up and were counted, in a PRO sex shop vote.

BUT as with anything in Northern Ireland it will by the moral minority who will control the majority.

I would like to say that we will not be going away, there are other owners (like me) fighting for their right to trade with products which are legal in this country, I will continue this fight, this crusade, until we have licences in this remote corner of the United Kingdom, and we are treated the same as the UK mainland!!!!

Our Day will come! (The Melon Farmers certainly hope so)

From ic Essex

The bid by a Romford sex shop owner to keep trading took a new twist last week when its owners challenged a legal procedure in a bid to get a decision on its future postponed.

Private Lines in Victoria Road was caught trading illegally without a licence on December 1, 2003. It was fined £9,000 in July this year after pleading guilty at Romford Magistrates' Court.

The shop's owner had to attend the Town Hall last Wednesday for a hearing before the Licensing Committee, where they asked for their application to be adjourned.

Havering Council said the applicant, Darker Enterprises, asked for the hearing to be adjourned for it to seek further legal advice. A spokesman said: The applicant objected to the council's actual hearings procedures.They expressed their concern first by fax and then at the meeting. The applicants representative, Clive Sullivan, stated a 1985 case to back up the argument that questioning of the applicant should not occur.

After taking legal advice from the council's legal department, councillor Peter Gardner, chairman of the licensing committee, said the procedure should stand and the adjournment was made.

The hearing will be rescheduled at a later date.

Usual rights abuse, denial of rights with a non-existent justification of harm

From ic North Wales

A licensed sex shop will not be operating in Queensferry after county officials rejected an application on Wednesday.

The proposed owners of the shop, Scandals, may be considering a judicial review. Lilian Kershaw, of Scandals, applied for a licence to open a sex shop on Station Road several months ago.

The original application was then dealt with by Flintshire County Council's licensing department under delegated powers, who rejected it. This week saw Mrs Kershaw appeal that decision before a committee of elected members.

Kershaw was applying for a licence to sell R18 products (hard pornography). Without the licence she could - and has - opened the shop without selling such products.

When asked by the panel, Mrs Kershaw's legal representative said they were hoping for 30% total shop turnover to be from the sale of R18 products. She said: I think it's fair to say that in Queensferry already 10% of sales is of standard 18-rated videos. There is a temptation to make the R18 side of the business sound like the main part of it, but it's not.The remaining 70% of turnover at our Birkenhead store is novelty toys, lingerie and clothing, massage oils, cards, therapies and that sort of thing.'

Mr Lovett, Council officer, told members: The application was made in the correct manner with relevant notices. North Wales Police had no objections. However, we received 60 letters of objection and two petitions with some 300 names.The council must give the applicants notice of objections, which we did. In Flintshire County Council licensing, matters are given to officers to determine under delegated powers.They were minded to refuse the application on the grounds that the licensed premises would be out of character with the surrounding area. Their decision is that the character of Queensferry is predominantly residential except for Station Road itself. Deeside Leisure Centre is nearby. Pupils pass up and down the street getting to a number of schools and there is a place of worship at the end of Station Road.

For those reasons the officers of the council were minded to refuse the application. Under legislation the applicant had the right to appeal.'

And Councillor David Wisinger added: I'm the ward member for Queensferry and I want to say that I was taken aback by the number of people who contacted me about this particular shop and I have spoken on their behalf. The main issue is that this is a residential area and that a junior and high school are very close by to the shop and children at dinner time do go into Queensferry to buy their lunch.'

Committee Chair Cllr Pamela Walkden said: We have decided to refuse this application because the granting of a licence would be inappropriate to the locality. There is no further appeal for this decision.'

Mrs Kershaw's lawyer immediately replied: We do have a route of appeal through judicial review in our courts.'

From ic Huddersfield

A Huddersfield sex shop and cinema has won its battle to continue trading. The Empire Cinema Club, on John William Street, had its licence renewed by Kirklees Council's licensing and safety committee yesterday.

The committee decided that the first-floor business was low-key and well-run, despite objections raised over the licence. Members also noted that it had been in the town for 25 years without any problems being reported.

Cllr David Sheard, who chaired the meeting, said: We appreciate the objections. I don't think everyone's into the same thing and that will always be the case. But on the record of the establishment we approve the application."

The application had been adjourned twice since May, because of objections to the renewal of the sex shop's licence to sell adult books, magazines, videos and sex aids. The shop is open to anybody over 18, but there is also a private members-only film club, which shows R18 adult movies.

There were no objectors at yesterday's meeting.The Vicar of Huddersfield, the Rev Catherine Ogle, was one of the most outspoken objectors. She felt the sex shop gave John William Street a "seedy" atmosphere and made people feel uncomfortable.

From ic North Wales

A sex shop chain is making its second attempt to get a foothold in North Wales. Nice 'n' Naughty, which advertises its goods openly in brightly-lit windows, has had a planning application for a store in Bangor opposed by the city council.

The company says it aims to get away from the seedy image of back-street sex store.

Bangor city council clerk Gwyn Hughes spouted the usual bollox and said there was a sub-culture associated with sex shops wherever they occur. We are talking about petty criminals and prostitution, that's the image that I have of red-light districts. Families and children go to the cinema nearby and there's a retail food store on one side.

Councillor Dewi Llewelyn, whose ward contains the site, said the shop would create an unfavourable impression of the city, although people see it as more threatening than it is.

The application will now go before Gwynedd council's licensing committee, which can overrule the city councillors.

It is the second attempt by Chester-based Nice 'n' Naughty, which owns five stores in the north west of England, to open a store in North Wales. Plans for a shop in Colwyn Bay were dismissed two years ago after Conwy county councillors refused to grant its owner a licence.

As a result, Simon Prescott, the managing director of Nice 'n' Naughty, said he would not proceed with the shop, but did not rule out looking at a different site in the future. The firm eventually settled on a former newsagents in Bangor High Street and put the application before city councillors on Monday.

Nice 'n' Naughty fought to become the first shop in the north west of England to have a window display. The chain has grown from one store in Chester to a brand, with shops in Wigan, Warrington, South-port and, earlier this year, Liverpool.

From The Scotsman

A bookshop in a building dating back to the 16th century is to open an adults-only section selling sex toys and magazines, it was confirmed today. The Old Judges House in Westgate, Gloucester is regarded as one of the best examples of a timber-framed building in the country.

The building is home to Bookends Bookshop but now the owners want to convert the top floor into an adult shop selling sex toys and magazines.

The plans have been criticised by Gloucester Civic Trust which wants to preserve the building as it is. The Trust had planned guided tours of the building during a heritage weekend on September 11, but the installation of a sex shop has put the tour in doubt.

Philip Moss from the Trust said: I was walking around the shop in preparation for the tour. I was quite shocked as I didn’t know they were converting the building.They were setting up display cases with certain items in them. The items in the shop were surprising for such a historic building.

Bookends manager Brian Thompson admitted part of the bookshop was being converted into a sex shop.We will be setting up an adult department in our bookshop, he said. “We’ll be selling adult themed magazines, adult toys and 18 certificate videos. But we are being very, very respectful of the building. There’s not going to be flashing lights and naked women, we are a bookshop at the end of the day. We’ve got permission to open to convert the shop. We aren’t a licensed sex shop so we can’t sell R18-rated films.

The sex shop will open in the next fortnight.

2nd September

Based on an article from This is South London

Rev Stephen Hammond, a nutter from Woolwich 4 Families, criticised the application by Darker Enterprises to open a sex shop at 112 Woolwich High Street. The proposed shop, on the site of an old cab firm, is directly opposite Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Rev Hammond, of the Global Impact Church, Deptford, collected 600 signatures on a petition against the company's plans to open a shop at another site on Thomas Street in May.

He said: We have kids of all ages walking past this new site. I would say this site is about 30 metres from the main shopping centre of Woolwich, two minutes walk from a very popular church and near the Sikh temple as well. Reports have been brought out about the detrimental effect shops like this can have on an area."

The company's initial application for Thomas Street was adjourned and the council's licensing committee asked the business to make a separate application.

The next meeting of the licensing committee, on September 6, has been postponed and the report into the new application is likely to be considered later this month.

16th August

Thanks to the Joker who points out that the letting agents of the proposed nursery were contacted and in fact the property is still available for rent. Perhaps the nursery is an elaborate

Based on an article from This is Lancashire

Plans to open a sex shop in the centre of Farnworth have been disrupted by a proposal for a children's nursery.

The shop is being earmarked for Market Street and the application is set to go before Bolton Council's licensing committee on September 7.

But another company is hoping to launch a children's nursery next door to the planned store -- and has vowed to fight against the adult shop.

Builder Riley and Wood is applying for planning permission for a nursery in Market Street, within the former social security offices. Bev Burns, a spokesman for Riley and Wood, said: There's no way planners will want to open a day care nursery next door to a sex shop. It's totally unsuitable.

If approved, the nursery will be open between 8am and 6pm and employ eight members of staff. The company says it already has two interested parties in running the day centre.

Farnworth councillor Noel Spencer said: This sort of clash certainly doesn't seem desirable. Nobody should prejudge an application before it goes through the proper process but, on this evidence, it is not appropriate. We are not looking to entice these types of shop into Farnworth anyway. They look tacky and are not the sort of environment for children to be around.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: "The application for a sex shop will come before the licensing committee on September 7. But because the objection period runs out only the day before, the hearing could be deferred to give interested parties the chance to attend the meeting.

16th August

Hardly seems in keeping with the ideals of Christianity to brand a large swathe of decent people as undesirable

Based on an article from ic Berkshire

Pastor says sex shop attracts 'undesirables' and that Reading borough council would be irresponsibly ignoring its own rules by granting a licence for a sex shop to operate near his church in the Oxford Road area.

Shameful pastor Yinka Oyekan, minister of Grovelands Christian Fellowship, led a protest outside Reading's council chamber last night before licensing councillors ruled on the future of the Lovecare shop.

Success for Lovecare's licence renewal application would make it the road's second approved sex shop, contravening the council's Safe Night Out licensing policy.

The policy states "only one sex establishment licence will be granted in each area" - and that should be a commercial district.

The Baptist minister said: Vulnerable youngsters need protection and we certainly don't need more sexual liberalism in our town. The problem with sex shops is that, by definition, they offer various materials of an adult content. That attracts men, and some women, we might not want in the area. In the minds of some, these are shops which belong in red-light areas, so some are coming here looking for sex.

Oyekan also believes allowing sex shops in the road is culturally insensitive to the area's large immigrant population. He said: These people are typically offended by these shops and, if the council does not stick to its policy, it shows it doesn't really care about the impact on these people.

The application was for a retrospective licence from March 2003 to February 2004 because councillors deferred a decision. It will have to reapply for an up-to-date licence next month.

5th August

Based on an article from ic Cheshire

Catholic nutters have joined a campaign to block plans for a sex shop which they fear will 'corrupt' the youth of Widnes.

Members of the Padre Pio prayer group have made a huge banner and are planning to stand outside the proposed site at 119a Albert Road on Saturday in the hope that hundreds of passers-by will be moved to complain about the proposals.

So far St John Fisher Church is to be joined in its protest by St Michael's RC Church and organisers believe a St Bede's Church campaign could also be on the cards. They hope Church of England congregations will also become involved in the campaign.

Terence Burns, prayer leader for the Padre Pio prayer group at St John Fisher Church, said: A number of people have agreed to take part and there will be many there on the day. We are going to stand outside where the shop with a big banner from 10am-1pm and hopefully hundreds of people will see it. We are disgusted. We believe this shop will bring 'filth' to Widnes and will corrupt young minds. Widnes has been a nice town and we don't want innocent people to be corrupted.'

Halton council has said a decision on the application will be made after it has considered comments made in writing by the public. The council states that its powers to make a decision are limited by an Act of Parliament which restricts representations from the public to matters concerning the location of the shop and the applicant.

4th August

Based on an article from The Sentinel

Plans to open a sex shop in Crewe have been approved by councillors despite objections from nutters and neighbouring businesses. Andrew Berry was granted approval to open a sex shop called The Love Boutique on Nantwich Road at a meeting yesterday.

The shop selling marital aids, kinky clothes and R18 DVDs will open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am until 6pm from next month.

It will be the second sex shop to open in the town. An existing shop on Edleston Road has been open for 20 years.

Berry also runs sex shops in Stockport and Preston.

He said: This will not be a seedy old fashioned sex shop, with glowing neon signs outside the door, and there will be no products placed in the window which may cause offence. We want to try to attract people over the age of 21, adults and married couples who want to buy the kind of things we will be selling which they cannot buy in Crewe at the moment.

Borough councillors were warned they could not reject the scheme on moral or religious grounds and instead must only look at the suitability of the shop.

They raised concerns about people under-age buying explicit films but were assured by Berry that he had a tough door policy.

After the council's decision, Berry said: It was the right decision, it will be a bright, clean shop which will not be in any way offensive to people walking past. It will be run to a high standard and will offer the people of Crewe somewhere to come if they wish to buy the type of items we will be selling. There has been one sex shop in the town which has held a monopoly for 20 years so now people will have a choice.

30th July

Based on an article from ic Huddersfield

Nutters who fear an area of Widnes could become like a 'red light district' have launched petition against plans to open a sex shop in Albert Road.

Nutters have voiced disgust after they read a planning notice about the proposal and they intend to hold a major protest outside the earmarked premises in Albert Road if Halton Borough Council gives the go-ahead for the 'adult shop' to be opened.

One resident, a 69 year-old woman who is one of 25 people who have so far signed the petition, said: We are absolutely appalled and horrified to hear that the council is considering giving planning permission to such a shop.

She said: I'm not over exaggerating but these kind of shops can pull in a lot of strange individuals on to the streets of Widnes and I do not want the kids who congregate in the area going into these places and seeing what kind of merchandise they have on offer.

A council spokeswoman said: An application for a sex shop licence for 119 Albert Road has been received by Halton Borough Council. A notice has been put in the press by the company involved and if there are any objections these must be put in writing to the council. The decision will be made by the council's regulatory committee who will consider very carefully all representation made in connection with the application.The powers of the committee to make a decision are limited by an act of parliament to issues concerned with the location and the applicant.'

27th July

From ic Huddersfield

A decision on whether to allow a sex shop and cinema to have a licence will be taken by Kirklees Council next week.

The Empire Cinema, in John William Street, has shown adult films for more than 25 years and has been selling books, magazines and sex aids for three years.

But in May when the licence was up for renewal the vicar of Huddersfield, the Rev Catherine Ogle, spoke out against the cinema saying it had a 'seedy atmosphere'.

Empire owner Steven Fawthrop said he could not understand what all the fuss was about.

He said: We have been here as a cinema for more than 25 years and never had any bother until now. We keep ourselves to ourselves and anyone who does not want anything to do with us just stays away. With the exception of the videos our shop does not sell anything more explicit than Ann Summers in the town centre."

In May councillors on Kirklees Council's Licensing and Safety Committee deferred a decision to let Fawthrop have his say.

Councillors will meet again at the Town Hall on Monday, August 2, at 9am.

27th July

Based on an article from The Citizen

Gloucester firms are to protest against the proposed relocation of a sex shop because of ludicrous concerns about its impact on female staff and school children.

Companies based on the Ashville Trading Estate, just off Empire Way in Gloucester, plan to act after it was announced The Private Shop may open its doors in Unit Seven on the Podsmead estate. One firm is even threatening to move away from the industrial estate.

The sex shop, currently based at the former Cattle Market, must relocate because it is the subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order for the market redevelopment.

But the management at Banner Hardware Ltd, Forge Motorsport, Target Catering Equipment and the Warners Accident Repair Centre, along with officials from Gloucester Rowing Club, have openly condemned the move.

The chairman of one firm looking to relocate should the sex shop open, who did not want to be named, said: I do not want to be portrayed like a moral guardian, but... I am considering these options as I have genuine concerns for my female employees and some of the young children which visit our store. It is not the content of the shop which I object to, it is the type of people it may attract."

The city council has receive more than 17 written objections to the application.

Coun Mike Lawlor, who represents the area on the city council, has also officially objected to the plans. He told The Citizen: I do not have any moral opinion on what the shop sells. However, I believe there are legal reasons why the shop should not be there. It is in close proximity to the rowing club and therefore the area is used by parents as a dropping off point for their children. It could also cause offence to women working in the area. There is a residential area close by.

Plans to move the shop to Ashville Trading Estate will be discussed by Gloucester City Council's licensing and enforcement committee on August 10.

22nd July

Based on an article from the Evening Leader

Petitions and fliers have swamped the streets of Queensferry, Flintshire, as nutters lobby the council to reject an application to license “Scandals”, Station Road.

The sign displaying plans for the sex shop was put up in the windows of Bargain Booze two weeks ago. An application for a licence was put in on July 8 and residents have until July 29 to oppose it. But many nutters claim that to allow an application to go through is totally irresponsible of the council and it should be stopped as soon as possible.

Tracy Jones, said: How can the council even think it is a good idea when there are so many children around. This is a route to school. What are they thinking? People who live in the surrounding streets have pride in their community. We don’t want the reputation of being the first place in Flintshire to get a sex shop.

The application has been submitted by Lilian Kershaw to open a sex shop called “Scandals”. The shop intends to open between 9am and 8.30pm, Monday to Friday.

4th July

Based on an article from the North Devon Journal

Supporters of the Journal's campaign against a sex shop in Barnstaple celebrated victory this week after the application was withdrawn. Kent-based businessman, Stephen Taylor, who already runs two shops in the country, applied to North Devon District Council for a licence to run a sex shop in Paiges Lane.

The move provoked outrage within the local nutters, and led to the launch of the Journal BRASS (Barnstaple Rejects A Sex Shop) campaign.

The Rev Paul Hockey, vicar of Fremington was "very pleased" the application was withdrawn. And the Rev Guy Chave-Cox, vicar of St Paul's, Sticklepath, added: "Barnstaple is not an appropriate place for this sort of establishment and I am very pleased that the application has been withdrawn."

24th June

From the Belfast Telegraph

Council chiefs in Londonderry have received no objections to the proposed granting of a licence to the city's first sex shop, it can be revealed today.

Businessman Ian Brown opened his controversial 'Fantasy' store at Waterloo Street two years ago.

Shortly afterwards, Derry City Council brought in legislation to control the number of sex shops and sex cinemas in the city. Brown was allowed to continue trading until a decision could be taken on a licence.

No decision has been made but local councillors were today told that no objections have been made. And it was revealed at a meeting of the council's Environment Services committee that police have no objections.

It is understood that a decision will be postponed until the outcome of a Judicial Review involving the granting of licences to similar establishments in Belfast.

A ruling is due to be made public soon.

23rd June

Based on an article from ThisIsLondon

Plans for Oxford Street's first fully licensed hard-porn sex shop have been condemned by nutters as "totally inappropriate".

The two-storey shop, called Harmony, will open in August at the Tottenham Court Road end of the West End's premier shopping street.

The 4,000 square-foot store will stock lingerie and sex toys on the ground floor and hardcore magazines, DVDs and videos in the basement.

Sally Humphreys, director of the Oxford Street Association, said: It is totally inappropriate. There is a place for shops like Harmony and it is in Soho. (Of course 3 doors away from Oxford Street down Charing Cross Road is perfectly acceptable!)

Although an Ann Summers "adult" store is already on Oxford Street, it does not stock hardcore material - which requires a licence from Westminster council.

Harmony manager Jamie O'Sullivan told Retail Week magazine the company wanted to create a "lifestyle brand" in a "nice retail environment".

He added: We are regenerating a site previously occupied by a tatty shop, which sold handbags and souvenir knickknacks. We have to abide by stringent regulations from Westminster council to open there. It is going to look as normal a high-street shop as HMV, except that it will be for over-18s only.

Harmony has four licensed sex shops in Soho but has been looking for a more upmarket Oxford Street outlet.

20th June

Update. The licence was awarded and the shop is now open

Based on an article from the Romford Recorder

A prospective licensee is hoping to open a sex shop in Derby has assured residents that they have "no reason to be concerned". Jon Foster wants to convert the former second-hand store Rummag, in Monk Street, into a shop selling adult toys and clothing. Videos and magazines could also be on sale in the future.

He has applied to Derby City Council for a licence to run the shop, but nutters have objected to the proposals. A petition with 39 signatures has been handed in, along with two letters raising concerns.

Foster insisted that they have nothing to worry about. There's no way the shop will have a negative effect on the area, I've lived here all my life and my father still lives in the area, so why would I want to make it a bad place to be? People have the idea that I'm bringing prostitution into the area and that sort of thing, but it's absolutely not the case. It's not going to be seedy - I don't want to own a seedy shop or be associated with that kind of thing.

12th June

Based on an article from Romford Recorder

Nutters are furious at plans to turn the old Post Office at Roneo Corner, Hornchurch, into a sex shop. Bright Leisure Ltd, from Cambridge, want to use the shop, in Hornchurch Road, as a sex shop from Monday to Saturday, between 9.30am and 8pm.

But a few residents are up in arms at the proposals and, together with local shameful MP John Cryer, are to launch a petition to fight the idea. One resident said: I'm as broad-minded as the next person, but this is no place for a sex shop. This is mainly a residential area, a place where children from two schools walk past regularly and a sex shop is inappropriate. These days this sort of product is easily available on the internet or in papers and magazines, so I don't see the need for a shop, especially here.

Hornchurch MP Mr Cryer has joined the fight opposing the application and says the former Roneo Corner Post Office should not be turned into any kind of sex establishment. The MP is backing the residents and writing to Havering Council putting forward his views. He told the Recorder: This is the last thing the area needs. After losing a vital public service in the former post office, we now have someone wanting to replace selling stamps and processing pensions to peddling porn magazines and sleaze. I am not going to support somewhere that sells porn, which in its very nature is degrading to women. With the help of local residents I am launching a petition and urging people to write in and call on Havering councillors to turn this application down.

Two years ago nutters were angered in Romford town centre when similar plans were submitted. An application was made to turn one of the shops in the parade near to the railway station, into a sex shop. But the application was turned down by planners last year after a petition was launched and hundreds of people signed up to say 'no'

11th June

From News Shopper

Nutters demonstrated outside the proposed site for a sex shop. Woolwich 4 Families, organised by the Christian People's Alliance (CPA) party, wants to scupper Darker Enterprises Limited's hopes for a sex shop licence for the premises of the former Singer Sewing Centre, in Thomas Street, Woolwich.

Members of the group, which has collected more than 600 signatures for a petition calling on Greenwich Council to accept late objections to the application, campaigned at the site.

Stephen Hammond, spokesman for the CPA and its London Assembly candidate for Greenwich and Lewisham, said: A sex shop will be bad for businesses in Woolwich. It could also be bad for the public given US research suggests a sex shop increases sexual crimes within proximity to it.

The licensing sub-committee is expected to consider the application at its next meeting at Woolwich town hall on June 15.

31st May

From IC Cheshire

Sex shop bosses will tomorrow visit premises in Crewe which they hope will be ideal to house the biggest erotic store in Europe. Simply Pleasure announced last year it wanted to build a supermarket-style store and a warehouse and distribution centre in Crewe.

After launching a store in Blackburn, director David Winfield says he is as determined as ever to open a Crewe branch of the store, which claims to 'take the sleaze out of sex'. We need quite a huge area. We have just opened a huge shop in Blackburn, we spent £350,000 on that and we would be looking to spend the same in Crewe

The licensed store would be one of the biggest of its kind worldwide and would also house a party-plan operation. As well as stocking lingerie, sex toys and accessories, Simply Pleasure runs a service organising parties catering for gay men, lesbians, mixed heterosexual, fetish parties and ladies' nights.

The chain, which operates on a similar basis to the Ann Summers shops, already has stores in Rochdale and Oldham and opened a branch in Blackburn last month.

At 3,000 sq ft, the shop in Oldham is said to be one of the biggest sex shops in the world, second only to Hustlers on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. But the planned store in Crewe would be even bigger than the Oldham shop, making it the largest in Europe.

22nd May

From IC South London

A sex shop could be coming to Woolwich. Greenwich council's licensing sub-committee was meeting last night to decide whether to give the green light to plans for the Thomas Street site. But the plan has met resistance from locals with eight objections and a petition signed by 53 customers of the Curry Asia restaurant logged with the council.

The proposed shop at 38 Thomas Street is on the site of the old Singer Sewing Centre. If the shop gets the go-ahead it will not be able to open before 9.30am and will have to close by 8pm. The firm behind the plans, Darker Enterprises, runs similar shops throughout the country including one in Lewisham Road.

Update: Greenwich Council have deferred their decision whilst other sites are being examined

20th May

From Nice N Naughty

Could inform your readers that our Liverpool branch opens on Monday 24th May at 9am. Free 2 hour British hardcore DVD for all of May and June if they mention the Melon Farmers.

19th May

From Piet at piet@littleamsterdam.co.uk

Piet here from the Little Amsterdam adult erotica and smoking emporiums.

I am at present in Spain setting up my distribution centre which will enable me to dispatch R18 videos/Dvd's to the UK legally, this is obviously pissing off my MP neighbour Peter Hain and local council as I received a telephone call from my brother who took over two of my shops after my recent court appearance .

Apparently trading standards visited The Neath shop yesterday [ 2nd time in a week ] saying that Little Amsterdam has 14 days to apply for a sex shop licence or face the consequences no videos/dvd's are on sale at the shop their objection is now the adult toys,

any advice your readers or anyone else specialist solicitors etc. would be appreciated, meanwhile if any of your readers would like me to distribute their r18 videos/ dvds for them they can contact me at piet@littleamsterdam.co.uk

13th May

Thanks to Monica,  Moore Allsorts, Ashford, Middlesex

Thanks for placing us on your list and hope it will let people know we are here, it seems to be very hard to let people know about the shop when there are so many restrictions on the type of advertising you can do, not being able to use the words Sex Shop in our advert in the Thompson left us searching for suitable alternatives.

26th April

From The Liverpool Echo

A sex shop chain has been given the go-ahead to sell hardcore pornography in Liverpool, making it the second such premises to open in a month. Nice n Naughty was granted a licence yesterday to open up an outlet in Seel Street by the Liverpool licensing committee.

Before this, there was only one sex shop within the city council area, but a change in policy has led to that figure trebling. Last week, Sefton Council granted Nice n Naughty a licence to open up Southport's first sex shop. Around 320 customers had signed a petition in favour of the licence.

Simon Prescott, director of Chester-based Nice n Naughty, said: Nice n Naughty is delighted at the outcome of the licensing hearing in Liverpool. The granting of the licence in Liverpool and the Southport licence last week gives Nice n Naughty a strong presence in the Merseyside area.

The Southport shop, just off Lord Street, is already trading and the Liverpool shop will open at the end of May. The licence is the second to be given by Liverpool City Council in the last month after it also approved an application by a company called Adult X to open a new shop on London Road.

Nice n Naughty will become Liverpool's third sex shop and more are expected as the council conducts a controversial review of its long-standing policy to allow only one sex shop to trade in the city. A spokesman for Liverpool City Council said: The policy we had, which dates back to the 1980s, was that we would only have one sex shop in the city centre. When we got these new applications in the licensing committee decided it was time to review it on the basis that we haven't had any applications in a long time and we need to see if the existing policy is still acceptable.

However, the shameful Father Francis Martin, moral theologian for Liverpool's Catholic Archdiocese, said he was disappointed. He told the Daily Post: Pornography degrades both those who make it and those who use it, and corrupts men's attitudes towards women. [Religion degrades both those who preach it and those abuse it, and corrupts men's attitudes towards tolerance of