UK Sex Shop News

Passions are running high over a sex shop application in the centre of an Anglesey town.

Ex-launderette owner David McCullum wants to move from cleaning clothes to selling adult goods with a sex shop in Holyhead.

But traders next to the proposed site on Williams Street are hot under the collar over the plans and have organised a petition against the adult store.

McCullum applied to Anglesey County Council for permission more than 18 months ago and now councillors want to set up a special committee to consider the license for the Sex Establishment in January.

Nutter MP Albert Owen, who has his constituency office on the same street as the proposed site, said: This is the wrong type of development for a popular street like this which has had a lot of investment by traders in the past few years. This shop would negate all the good work that has been done on this street.This is not something that is wanted in this town.

Hairdresser Linda Rowlands, whose shop Clippers is two doors down from the site, said: We are totally opposed to this, it is disgusting. We have kids and families coming to our shop every day and we don't want this type of shop just two doors away. We just don't want it here, it is not good for Holyhead.

McCullum said the shop window would be made appropriate for the street: The shop will be on the lines of an Ann Summers store and not a seedy place. I believe we have the support of the silent majority in the town and that we will prove popular.

The Anglesey council planning committee will now consider this proposal in the next meeting on January 7.

Market analysts at the Hewson Group have released a report on how the High Street should be looking at the market for sex and fantasy related goods for women.

We looked at this market because we thought it offered perhaps the biggest growth in the retail sector, says Nick Hewson. We did a relatively small but detailed survey with women in the 18-59 group and found that nearly half said they would spend at least £150 a year on erotic related goods if the shopping environment was right. We know that there is already a core spend of about £250 million on such products for women so while £1bn may be high, £700m is definitely not such an improbable figure given that the current market is almost totally dysfunctional and unleveraged.

Hewson Group believes that the depth of the opportunity is widely underestimated. Erotic products for women go way beyond sex toys and might include clothing, a range of accessories such as blindfolds, masks and silk ties, literature, oils, candles and lubricants. Nick Hewson is of the opinion that almost all existing merchandising is not market aligned: Much of what we see today grew out of a more sleazy background with a backstreet image. It is tainted by a porn associated ancestry. This is clearly not what women want - nor do their partners if they are gift shopping. A few companies have understood the future market, Myla, Lelo, Agent Provocateur, Shiri Zinn and perhaps Philips would be examples. But nearly everywhere else the marketing is simply inept. The packaging is awful and websites are from another time.

Properly addressed, this market will be seen by the consumer as very close to mainstream, offers Nick Hewson: At the moment, however, there is very little validation conferred by well known brands or by aspirational advertising.

According to Hewson the market has two significant drivers: The first is a basic and enduring human need - this is an area that is always understood to be as important as food and shelter so £150 a year is not a lot in that context and might well prove to be very resistant to economic conditions. Secondly, it's a place where owning or receiving goods should be a pleasure in itself.

Fees for sex shop licences in Warwick district may rise to £3,500.

The district council's executive last week discussed the possibility of increasing the fee - which is currently £795 - in order to cover the costs of regular inspections and possible prosecutions.

Coun Bill Gifford (Not So Lib Dem) said: It's not a case of us trying to take money off the sex shops, it's about making sure their activities are not subsidised by the ordinary tax payer.

It was decided at the council meeting on December 4 that further research needed to be done into the appropriate level of funding before a decision could be reached.

Although there are currently no licensed sex shops in the district, members of the council's licensing committee and trading substandards officers seized more than 100 pornographic DVDs from Private in High Street in October. The films were being sold without a sex shop licence.

Nominations have been published for the Erotic Trade Only Awards.

As one might expect, most awards are for adult industry traders but here are the nominations that may be of interest to consumers.

Nice ‘n'
 Naughty'
s domination of the British adult retail market will be put to the test again at the 2008 ETO Awards in July.

The company has landed the Best Retailer Oscar three years on the bounce.

This year, Nice N Naughty have again been shortlisted in the top 5 retailers

Nice ‘n'
 Naughty director (Simon Prescott) is confident his team can retain their crown: It'
s been a tough challenging year for Nice ‘n'
 Naughty but we'
ve lost none of our appetite for success. That'
s why we want the Retailer of the Year award for an unprecedented four years running .

Trish Murray, Retail Director had this to say: The hardworking retail team at Nice N Naughty deserve recognition of their efforts and it would keep team morale up knowing their peers have voted for them.

Nice ‘n'
 Naughty have also been nominated as ETO'
s Best R18 DVD Wholesaler of the Year and in partnership with Wicked Pictures Best Overseas Film Brand.

As we move into our 2nd year of distributing the Vouyer Media brand we anticipate an extremely busy remainder of 2008 leading into 2009 with the release of many new titles under this well established and highly acclaimed multiple award winning brand, Simon said.

ETO said: Wicked can thank its UK distributor Nice ‘n'
 Naughty Wholesale for making great efforts to promote the brand on these shores. Standout Wicked titles include Supernatural , Manhunters , which have both been nominated this year, and Fuck .

With Supernatural already winning ETO'
s film of month hopes are high it can land the overall Best Overseas film at the awards on July 27. ETO already described the film as “head and shoulders above your average porno. It adds a degree of emotional charge to what are already cracking sex scenes.

Of Manhunters , ETO said: Wicked Pictures'
 three disc epic is one of the most elaborately packaged porn DVDs on the market and Nice ‘n'
 Naughty Wholesale should be applauded for maintaining the US version'
s look and feel. This is a movie that demands attention.

Entrepreneur Tony Ibrahim has bought the Little Chef at Guyhirn and plans to turns it into Cambridgeshire'
s biggest sex shop.

Ibrahim has previous experience of running a sex shop since until two years ago he ran a small adult only shop at the rear of a service station at Thorney Toll.

To be honest we ran an adult shop for three years and never had one single problem, he told the Standard. We had more problems with people driving off without paying for their petrol, smashing canopies or breaking in at nights. The huff and puff over our adult shop at Thorney was one person in the village- who ended up being our best customer anyway!

He hopes to open within a month and the sex shop will cover both ground and first floors. The store will be known as Kiss Kiss.

However his purchase of the A47 site has prompted the resignation of a parish councillor who said he quit after failing to persuade fellow councillors to join his protest.

Paul Carpenter says he has had enough after a year serving as a member of Wisbech St Mary Parish Council.Fearing Guyhirn will be known as the sex capital of Fenland he has enlisted the help of an action group to stop the shop going ahead.

Ibrahim said Fenland Council'
s attitude to business was changing, and he applauded their support for local enterprise: Why shouldn'
t people spend their money on what they want locally.

Comments may be sent to Fenland District Council until 19th May.

Update: Protest Meeting

23rd May 2008

Around 90 irate nutters packed Guyhirn village hall to protest against plans to open the county's largest sex shop at the former Little Chef on the A47.

The meeting was chaired by local councillor Phil Wait and was attended by developer Tony Ibrahim.

Villagers are said to be 'hugely concerned' the enterprise will cause house prices to drop and will put off new people moving to Guyhirn. They also fear it will give the wrong impression of Fenland to drivers passing by on the A47. There are also concerns the store's signage and external paintwork will be distracting to drivers and could lead to accidents.

Wait said there are now plans for a second meeting when it is hoped Fenland Council officers will attend to listen to the locals' viewpoint. He said those who attended were urged to put their opposition in writing to the district council before June 11.

Update: Call to Resign

27th May 2008 from Fenland Citizen

Sex shop businessman Tony Ibrahim is calling for a town council clerk to resign amid claims the clerk, Erbie Murat, launched a personal attack on him in an email sent out from the council's computer.

Ibrahim says he is taking legal action against Wisbech Town Clerk Murat, claiming remarks made by him in the email were libellous.

Murat has furiously denied the email - sent out to various councillors and council officials, raising objections against plans by Ibrahim to open a sex shop at Guyhirn - was personal.

Ibrahim has approached Wisbech Mayor Jonathan Farmer, calling on him to take action against Murat. He believes Murat should be disciplined for using the council's email address to send out his letter of objection and would like to see him resign.

David Oliver, former Mayor and town council leader, said he had spoken to Murat and he had been reprimanded for using the council's computer. But he said: It is a personal email, it is not from Wisbech Town Council and it is not inferred anywhere that is from Wisbech Town Council.

Update: The Letter

2nd June 2008

Murat included scathing comments about Mr Ibrahim's family, finances, ethnicity and children's schooling in his objection to the plans for the former Little Chef near the A47.

Shortly after receiving a copy of the offending letter - on official Wisbech Town Council headed paper - Mr Ibrahim's wife Sheniz passed a copy to police and her family lawyers.

However, in a fresh letter to Fenland District Council's licensing department, Murat said: I apologise to Mrs Ibrahim for any distress I may have caused her by my previous letter.

My understanding was that she was part of the application on the basis that she would benefit from the operation of the sex shop and, therefore, she should form part of the determination of whether the applicant is suitable to hold a licence. I did, however, act precipitously and included material that I had not intended, and I again apologise to Mrs Ibrahim.

But the fact remains that she is supporting her husband's application for opening a sex shop in a location that puts children and young people, in my opinion, seriously at risk and certainly at much greater risk that they now endure.

Business and community leaders asked Nice ‘n'
 Naughty to put together a striking window display as part of the Chester'
s Smile Campaign.

Store manager Claudine Thelwell and colleague Louise Jones, responded in style creating a cheeky Adam and Eve theme for the shop front in Brook Street, Chester, close to the city'
s main railway station.

Nice ‘n'
 Naughty director Simon Prescott said he'
d been delighted to be a part of the marketing campaign, which also involved well-known mainstream retailers: It wasn'
t that long ago that we were having to fight to have window displays in our stores. To be invited by a partnership of community organisations to be involved in their tourism plans is a real breakthrough for our industry. It demonstrates that it is possible to break down some of the myths and taboos surrounding adult retailers .

Simon added: “The company is committed to developing public awareness of changes within the adult industry and eliminating the stigma and perceptions associated with adult shops.”

Chester City Management, a partnership of business, education, community and voluntary groups including the police, fire and resident groups, launched the Smile campaign to boost tourism numbers.

A judging panel made up of local dignitaries will be visiting the Nice ‘n'
 Naughty store next month to see whether the display is worthy of a prize, presented by celebrity interior designer Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen or top television gardener Diarmund Gavin.

The Galway City Council is to issue legal proceedings against an adult cinema believed to be operating in Liosban without planning permission.

Cllr Padraig Conneely hit out this week at the operation of the cinema at the Jade Winters adult shop in the Liosban Industrial Estate. The cinema, which has been showing hardcore pornographic films in two small cinemas and a number of private booths, was found to have been altered apparently without planning permission when a city council planning inspector visited the premises last November.

The inspector found that half the premises — which has planning permission to operate as a retail outlet — was being used as a cinema, with two large screen cinemas, a 12-seater and a nine-seater, six video booths, and four private rooms, along with additional signage to the front of the premises.

In a report on the inspection a city council planning officer stated that she had been unable to locate any planning permission for the cinema or the signage.

The council issued the company with a warning letter, advising the manager to cease the unauthorised use of the cinema and to remove the additional signage and reinstate the premises to its former condition. An enforcement notice was also subsequently issued to the company.

Cllr Conneely called on the Galway City Council and the Garda to investigate the operation of the cinema when it was brought to his attention at the weekend. The cinema is believed to have been showing a selection of gay and straight sex films throughout the day for a €12 admission fee, with free admission for women.

The case is expected to come before Galway District Court on Wednesday June 4.

A sex shop selling hardcore films, PVC lingerie and adult toys will open for business after council chiefs rubber-stamped the application.

The Pillow Talk store will move into a vacant property in the parade of shops in Rainham Road, Chatham – running adjacent to Chatham Grammar School for Girls.

Medway council'
s licensing team backed the adult chain'
s application at a meeting on Monday night - despite objections from the usual nutters, the school'
s headteacher, neighbouring shopkeepers and residents.

One written complaint said: These premises are barely 100 metres from the ash Tree Lane pedestrian entrance to the school, on a route where a significant proportion of our girls walk past. I feel this is an entirely inappropriate location for such an establishment and that parents and pupils will find it seedy and upsetting.

Pillow Talk owner Alan Butler dismissed the objections and praised the councillors for the handling of his application: It'
s great and I'
m really pleased. I think it'
s a very fair decision and I feel the council handled the meeting superbly. There was a lot of protest before the meeting but only four people turned up to object.

The people who objected said they were worried about paedophile, but sex shops don'
t attract them as we don'
t sell what they want. Schools are much more likely to attract them.

People see a sex shop application and get frightened but the regulations imposed on us state that passer bys cannot see through the doors or window displays. So what are they going to see?

The critics were also worried about the shop attracting the ‘wrong sort of people'
, but these people also use newsagents, petrol stations and shops – they'
re around us every day.

This is our 13th licence and we'
ve never had one revoked. The councillors made a very sensible decision.

Under the terms of the licence the shop is not allowed to open on Sundays, show films or videos in their entirety or display any items other than lingerie in its shop window.

The firm is also ordered to place a screen between the window and the shop ensuring people cannot see into the store from the street.

The Moral High Grounders of Elim Centre Funny, I thought Christians are supposed to love their neighbours, and therefore let them enjoy their lives

Customers of a popular adult store are fighting to keep it open despite objections from a local church minister.

Fans of sex shop Nice ‘n'
 Naughty in Southport, Merseyside, have pleaded with Sefton Council not to withdraw its critical Sex Establishment Licence.

Members of a nearby church have petitioned the council to retract the licence, without which the store would not be able to operate. But shoppers say Nice ‘n'
 Naughty has injected fun into their sex lives and even saved failing marriages.

Alan Jones, of Southbank Road, said: A sex shop is there to add fun and that extra spark into many couples'
 relationships, to help those who may be having trouble within their sex lives and even to put some fun into the lives of the single, too.

Bankfield Lane husband and father Mr D J Brian added it was good for Southport that such an outlet exists.

He commented: I have visited the store a couple of times now with my partner and was thoroughly surprised at how anyone could ever judge the shop for what it sells or represents. The store is located on what I consider to be a side road and is not in the faces of any of the residents or visitors to Southport.

But Elim Christian Centre minister Rev Richard Vernon has appealed to Sefton Council to take the moral high ground and has submitted a petition of 25 signatures opposed to the licence renewal.

He said: As an organisation that has been ministering here in the town for more than 75 years and that believes wholeheartedly in the value of maintaining sexual purity, it is heartbreaking when you are called in to bring some sense of healing and counsel to those whose lives and families have been torn apart by addictions and strongholds to pornography and the like.

He added: One could be mistaken into thinking that Southport wants to become the new Blackpool which, as you will know, has a terrible reputation for being seedy.

But customer Mrs A Hardgrave insisted: It is about time that this country started accepting these shops. They try to dispel the myth of ‘seediness'
 in sex shops.

Update: Renewed Success

20th May 2008

The moral high grounders turned out in force, but Nice 'n' Naughty carried the day with a licence renewed for another year.

Update: Moral Irrelevance

22nd May 2008, Thanks to www.nicennaughty.co.uk

Adult retailers Nice N Naughty are celebrating another year'
s successful licence renewal. At the licence hearing, conducted at Southport Town Hall on Monday 19th May, the committee listened to a presentation from Retail Director, Trish Murray regarding Nice N Naughty'
s professionalism and history of the store itself.

Elim Christian Centre minister Reverend Richard Vernon attended the hearing and urged the committee to take the moral high ground and was armed with a petition of 25 signatures opposed to the license renewal.

However, as Nice N Naughty have traded for 4 years without incident, and the objections received were on moral grounds the committee declared unanimously that the licence was to be renewed.

Adult store Nice ‘n'
 Naughty is adding some fun to this summer'
s Olympic Games by supplying the Great Britain team with condoms.

More than 300 athletes and 200 officials will be sent their own personal supply of contraceptives to help them through the Olympic warm up and 16 days of intense competition.

The condoms will be specially branded and come in red, white and blue to ensure the team continues to wave the flag while in Beijing.

Nice ‘n'
 Naughty director Simon Prescott says he also wants to make sure Great Britain'
s athletes come home without any unwanted trophies from the trip.

The Games are designed to bring nations together. We want those cultural exchanges to be as enjoyable as possible, so what better way to support the team than with a gift everyone, both winners and losers, can use.

We manufacture Nice ‘n'
 Naughty condoms in China so we can easily supply other teams if they want to follow the British example. Regardless of their performances on the track, field or pool we'
re determined to help the athletes raise the bar in any bedroom games.

A letter has been sent to Ed Warner, head of UK Athletics, offering the Nice ‘n'
 Naughty condoms.

The UK'
s adult chain, Nice ‘n'
 Naughty, is preparing to celebrate another milestone.

Next month the millionth customer will pass through one of the group'
s 11 stores.

Richard Allmark, Nice ‘n'
 Naughty'
s national retail manager, said the lucky person was in for a fantastic surprise: Whoever is the millionth customer will walk away with £1,000 worth of store goodies.

All of our stores measure footfall on a daily basis so we know we are on track to achieve the milestone of a million customers in June. It may take us 24 hours to identify who that millionth customer was but once we know who they are they'
re in line for a real treat with £1,000 to spend at a store of their choice.

Simon Prescott, 35, established Nice ‘n'
 Naughty in Chester nine years ago. He was joined twelve months later by co-director and partner Trish Murray. Today Nice ‘n'
 Naughty has 11 stores across the North West, including two stores in Liverpool and others in Manchester, Lancashire, Mid Wales and the Midlands.

A man who ran porn shops and sold adult films without a licence has been jailed for four months.

Donald McEwan was sentenced by Manchester magistrates after pleading guilty to six offences.

McEwan was charged after police and officers from the council's licensing and trading standards units carried out raids on the Big In Amsterdam shop in Tib Street and the Film Factory in Hilton Street where videos and DVDs were seized.

Three years ago he was convicted of identical offences and was fined. This time the judge told him there was no option but a custodial sentence.

The offences all related to McEwan running unlicensed shops in Manchester city centre's Northern Quarter, as well as selling R18-rated films without a licence and films that had no official age certification.

He was given four three-month sentences to run concurrently and one month, to run consecutively, for non-payment of fines imposed in 2005.

Coun Eddy Newman said: McEwan tried to side-step the council's strict controls and attempted to avoid the licence fee, therefore gaining a commercial advantage over those who operate within the law.

Pulse & Cocktails poster in Stoke was recently cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority

Gateshead's only licensed sex shop has had its license revoked after two large signs advertising the business were put up on a main road.

Members of the public complained when the signs advertising Pulse and Cocktails in Blaydon were seen on the Chainbridge Road close to Scotswood Bridge.

The company was twice refused a sex shop licence in 2004 and 2005, but by its third application all the issues of concern voiced by local people and committee members had been addressed.

A licence was granted in March 2006 for three months, and after no complaints were received, a 12-month renewal was granted.

The company is expected to appeal against the decision to revoke its licence.

Plans have been unveiled to open a sex shop in the centre of Wellington. A planning application has been submitted to Telford & Wrekin Council seeking permission to use 1A Vineyard Road as the sex shop.

The owners of Romeo & Juliet's sex shop in Ketley Business Park are behind the application.

However, nutters predictably claim the proposal is “inappropriate” and “unnecessary”. Wellington Civic Society chairman Ross Vickers said he would be objecting to the application: This is completely inappropriate for the area because there are a lot of schoolchildren passing by and it's in a residential area .

Wellington Chamber of Commerce president Dave Riley said: We are here to encourage all types of businesses into Wellington. If they are perfectly legally, legitimately-operated businesses then we have no right to make any moral judgement against them... WHAT I WOULD SAY ... perhaps serious thought needs to be given to this location, particularly as it's close to residential areas.”

Objectors have until May 2 to make representations to Telford & Wrekin Council. A council spokesman said today: We can confirm we have received an application for a sex establishment licence.

A nutter bid to bring down the Richmond's lone sex shop has been defeated - despite the impending arrival of a new school in the road.

Two speakers opposed the renewal of the licence for Private Lines, in Kew Road, at a council committee meeting on Tuesday, April 15, but their arguments were rejected and the licence was granted for a further 12 months.

The nutters claimed the opening of the Falcons Preparatory School for Boys, for 250 eight to 13-year-olds, further down the road in September would bring children into contact with the sex store.

Speaking on behalf of Twickenham Christian Concern, Chris Jarvis, said: The school has a policy of deliberately promoting pedestrian traffic for children, parents and staff. He expressed concerns that the existence of a shop selling hardcore pornography close to a residential area and a school would set a precedent in the borough and could lead to similar stores appearing in other high streets.

Representing Private Lines' owners, Darker Enterprises Ltd, Clive Sullivan rubbished the claims and said that no child could tell what was on sale from the outside. He said: It could be an accountants, a solicitors or a betting shop. There is not a sex shop in the country where people do not walk by.

27 - 28 July at the NEC, Birmingham

The ETO Show is the UK's only dedicated adult industry event. Bringing together manufacturers and distributors from all sides of the industry - including film, lingerie, toys and consumables - with all the key trade buyers, the ETO Show is free to attend for trade professionals.

Taking place on the evening of the first day of the ETO Show, the black tie Awards Dinner has become a must-attend event for networking with the leading players of the adult industry. The awards are voted for by readers of ETO and have become known as the most prestigious in the industry.

Reading sex shop owner Jeremy Bayley has handed over the keys to his outlet in Oxford Road to new owners after running the business for 35 years.

Bayley worked at Lovecare ever since the previous owner asked him to hold the fort for two weeks while he went on holiday in 1973.

He later bought the licensed sex shop in the early 1980s and has enjoyed a booming trade ever since.

Highlights of his career include an alleged visit from Sir Elton John who stockpiled rubber dolls for a gig in the 1970s, and the Video Recordings Act which restricted the sale of pornographic material to licensed sex shops in 1984.

Bayley's application to transfer his sex establishment licence to new owners Amor Ltd was approved by Reading Borough Council's licensing committee on Wednesday.

He said: I've enjoyed a lot of good trade over the years, mainly from local people who are regulars at the shop.But I'm getting on now and it's time for a younger, fresher pair of hands to take over.

Glasgow Council. Licensing and Leisure Department

A sex shop on the South Side of Glasgow has been shut down after a raid by police.

Officers seized sex aids, pornographic magazines and DVDs when they raided the Tempt Us shop in Victoria Road. They barged in after complaints by locals.

Note that there is no law against selling sex aids and pornographic magazines, nor indeed 18 rated DVDs. Only unclassified DVDs or hardcore R18 DVDs are illegal to sell from an unlicensed shop.

A report is being sent to the procurator fiscal. A police spokeswoman said: Officers carried out a search, under warrant, and recovered a large quantity of sexual aids and pornographic material. The premises have been closed.

On an internet advert, the shop is described as selling "novelty items" including birthday gifts and hen party gifts - but it also lists sexual items including DVDS.

Shops must obtain a sex shopl licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to sell hardcore DVDs but the rights abusing council refuses to grant licences, seemingly on moral grounds.

We are delighted to announce we have won our right to ‘sexy’ advertising following a complaint over a billboard poster in Stoke-On-Trent. The poster displayed a female dressed in a Halloween fancy dress outfit with the headline ‘Sexy shopping’. We were led to believe the complainant was a member of the local church and was offended by the satanic implications of the costume.

We are thrilled that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found in our favour and agreed the poster was not explicit, offensive or inappropriate for display. We understand now that the root of the objection was based on moral grounds.

We have ran similar advertising campaigns since starting in 1997 through press, radio and billboards to which complaints have literally been unheard of in our 10 years of trading.

We are currently in talks with Clear Channel with a view to renewing our advertising contract at the site to which the complaint was received. However, as a sign of respect to the complainant we intend on using a different image as originally suggested, even though the previous advert does not breach any codes.

As part of our 10th year anniversary celebrations in addition to the erotic goods we have expanded the sexy lifestyle side of our stores to include more fancy dress costumes and party novelties, swimwear, luxury gifts, greeting cards, jewellery and footwear.

The ASA decision was published as follows:

The ASA noted Cocktails' comment that the Committee of Advertising Practise (CAP) had seen a press ad produced by Cocktails and had advised that it was unlikely to breach the CAP Code. We understood, however, that CAP had seen only the text of the ad and not the image of the model in the devil outfit. We also noted, following an earlier complaint, the ASA had considered that another poster for Cocktails that featured a model in a bunny girl outfit was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We noted the poster was displayed at a busy roundabout and was near a primary school and a church. We considered that, although some would find the woman in a devil outfit and the headline "SEXy shopping" distasteful, the content of the ad was relevant to the advertised product and was not explicit. We concluded that the poster was not inappropriate for display on a poster and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising) and 5.1 (Decency) but did not find it in breach.

Nutters in King’s Cross have launched a battle against plans for a new sex DVD shop in the area.

Residents, including the Thornhill Square Association, are calling on Islington Council’s licensing regulatory committee to turn down an application for DVD Xtra which has already opened – at 8 Caledonian Road when it meets next Wednesday. It would be the third in the neighbourhood.

Labour councillor Paul Convery said that if the shop got the go-ahead it would mean there were three sex establishments within hundreds of yards of each other.

He added: Twenty-five years ago this was a seedy, run-down part of London. Today it is up and coming and being redeveloped. We’ve got many families living locally. What’s more, King’s Cross will be the gateway for visitors to the London Olympic Games who come by Eurostar.

Resident Stephan Schulte said he thought the new application could be refused simply on the grounds that there is already a licensed shop across the road. He said: What could possibly justify the need for a second shop? [answer: monopoly pricing]

The licensing regulatory committee will meet to decide the issue on Wednesday, March 12 at 2.30pm.

Pulse and Cocktails have put together a well considered and robust defence for their poster that attracted complaints in Stoke.

Marketing for the sex shop chain has always been directed at couples to promote a sexy shopping need for adults. Sexy Shopping at Europe's Largest Sexy Superstores is their slogan used on Pulse and Cocktails' premises and also in advertising.

They have used the same format of advertising both in the press and also on billboards for a number of years using the sexy shopping theme with many carrying an image of a female model dressed in a fancy dress outfit. These outfits have ranged from Bunny Girl, Miss Santa, Maid, Cow Girl and also Sexy Devil all of which are not skimpy and can be purchased from many non-adult high street retailers.

Similar newspaper advertisements have been published frequently since 2005 and the same image ran for several months in the Sunday People. This advert was examined by CAP before going to print and no complaints have ever been lodged to either Pulse and Cocktails or the newspaper.

Similar posters have been run for some time in Middlesbrough, Wolverhampton, Gloucester and Chesterfield and no complaints have been lodged. A complaint was made about a poster in Cheltenham but to the best of knowledge, the poster was found to be none offensive and the complainant was notified accordingly.

In this case, it seems that complainant was offended by the image on the poster as it depicted the Devil and was in close proximity to the complainants' Church.  Although the image used is tame and the outfit is clearly a fancy dress with no satanic implications at all, Pulse and Cocktails offered to replace it with a new poster following the same format but with a female model dressed in a different fancy dress costume. The complainant rebuffed the offer and said any poster advertising a sex shop at that location was unacceptable.

Pulse and Cocktails also believe it is unfair to suggest that it is unsuitable to advertise their business in the vicinity of a church or school. Many sex shops can be seen by children as they pass in cars or by foot. Also, numerous sex shops advertise on buses and taxis that pass schools and churches with children passengers.

None of the advertisements describe products for sale nor show images of products of a sexual nature.

The word ‘sexy' is a word used by the media on a daily basis and it would be hard to imagine why a child would be affected by reading this word.

Pulse and Cocktails therefore conclude that the complaint is based more on personal morality than on the contents of the poster.

A Worthing sex shop's third bid to sell hard-core pornography has again been rejected by Worthing Council.
Secret Desires, in Rowlands Road, wanted to sell videos with the specialist R18 certificate and a wider selection of sex toys, submitting its application in October last year despite two previous failed attempts.

The licensing and control committee heard almost two hours of representations from opponents to the bid, and a spokeswoman for the applicant, before retiring for almost an hour to discuss their decision.

Around 75 people packed into the committee room at the town hall to witness the meeting, with some joining in group prayer as they waited outside the council chamber for councillors to announce the result.

A council solicitor told the hushed audience the bid was rejected on the grounds it would be inappropriate in the high density residential area in which it was situated. She added it was on a main thoroughfare into the town centre often used by children.

Stoke residents have complained about a poster advertising a sex shop. The advert for Pulse and Cocktails in Longton, featuring a photo of a woman dressed provocatively as a devil, was displayed at the roundabout where the A34 meets the A500 at Hanford.

Councillor Terry Follows has received complaints from parents concerned about their children seeing the billboard, which is near St Teresa's Primary School.

Councillor Follows said: I'm no prude ... BUT ... I've had a number of complaints about it. Do we want that sort of billboard plastered around our city? People have been trying to explain to their children what it means and it can be very awkward.

The director of Pulse and Cocktails, Graham Kidd says the company has branches around the country that are advertised with the same poster. He said he had offered to alter the image when it is put up again. He said: I've been told there has been a complaint that the girl is dressed as a devil and it's near a Catholic school and a church. I am prepared to use a different photo, of someone in lingerie or a bunny girl - which will cost £1,000 - if that will address the concern.

But residents living nearby believe the content of the advert is inappropriate. Tina Tomkinson said: Things like this shouldn't be in your face. There's a school down there so lots of people have to walk their children past it every day. It's shocking - I don't think it should be put up again.

A sex shop boss is making her third bid to sell hardcore films. But Kathleen Sutton, proprietor of Secret Desires, Rowlands Road, Worthing, faces a barrage of nutters.

Borough councillors have received protest petitions containing almost 2,000 names, but more than a quarter of those who signed were not from the town and 137 failed to put down their addresses.

Ms Sutton, who wants a sex shop licence, submitted a counter petition of 528 names, but 187 were not local and 209 did not leave their addresses.

Without a licence, children are allowed into the shop, and can also see inside from the street.

Police raised no objections to a licence being granted.

One nutter wrote: Some might easily decide to shop elsewhere if West Worthing becomes known as a 'sleazy area.

Meanwhile another warned: I am convinced that a shop licensed to sell hardcore sex films would be a blight on the town.

But a supporter of the application said: I do not object in principle to the presence of this shop in Rowlands Road, but as I have three school-aged children I find some of the posters and items displayed in the window to be unsuitable for public display. I understand that granting a licence would enable the council to exert greater control, and would therefore prefer the shop to become licensed.

A report to councillors on February 6 said there had been no complaints about the conduct of the business. It added: The effect of being unlicensed means the business is unable to sell R18-rated video or DVD films and only a limited proportion of sex articles. However, being unlicensed has also meant the business can allow entry to patrons of any age and this authority has no control of what is displayed in the windows.

UK adult trade body, AITA, is launching a major campaign this month which it hopes will persuade councils to reduce licensing fees for sex shops and also influence other regulatory bodies into relaxing the legislation that prevents licensed stores from selling online or via mail order.

AITA says that the biggest source of complaints it now receives is members with licensed sex shops who are facing tremendously difficult trading conditions, particularly since overseas rivals can offer DVDs to UK customers via mail order - which UK companies cannot - without having to pay licence fees. Furthermore, overseas firms can sell DVDs into the UK market which have not gone through the BBFC process, making them considerably cheaper as a result.

This is on top of stores facing the new - also unregulated - competition from IT routes to market such as downloads, streaming, mobile phones, hotel TV and IPTV, the huge influx of foreign street sellers and counterfeiters and the large number of unlicensed stores which continue to trade.

Yet, it says, local authorities appear to be oblivious to these issues and have continued to increase licence fees. AITA has therefore prepared a lobbying document that will highlight the problems facing UK licensed sex shops and seeks to gain support for reducing licence fees and to relax legislation for R18 via the Internet and mail order.

A bid to expand an adult material import and distribution business to a sex shop in an industrial unit on the edge of a Norfolk village has been refused.

Chris Bottrell, of East Harling, hoped to open a
shop called Lush XXX to sell sex products to personal visitors and by internet sales and mail order.

But while Breckland Council's general purposes committee agreed to grant a sex establishment licence from 9.30am to 9.30pm, the council's development control committee on Monday refused to approve a change of planning permission.

Villagers who spoke against the proposal included the Reverend nutter Nigel Kinsella. Such is the nature of small villages no one from it will visit the shop because everyone else will find out , he said.

Another resident said opening the shop would bring unsavoury people into the village, the sort we want to keep out.

Bottrell produced a petition signed by more than 120 villagers who all wanted the sex shop to open.

Councillors were supposedly concerned the late opening hours would disturb villagers but Bottrell explained some things legally cannot be sold wholesale over the internet and instead must be sold personally.

Nigel Wilkin, a member of the development control committee, said that despite the proposal being recommended for planning permission, the council refuse it on the grounds there was not enough adequate parking and access for customers' vehicles and the council did not want to set the precedent for the rest of the units on the industrial estate to turn to retail.

Eight councillors voted for a ban and four against, so planning permission was refused.

Update: Permission to Try Again

22nd April 2008

An importer and distributor of adult products has made a new bid for a sex shop on the edge of a village.

Christopher Bottrell, who runs his Lush XXX business at the Cloverfield Industrial Estate in East Harling, wants to change the use of the first floor of his premises to become a shop.

Dozens of churchgoers and residents applauded when Gosport Borough Council's licensing committee refused to give Private Lives, in Forton Road, permission to sell explicit DVDs and videos.

A group of 30 nutters spent Saturday praying the council wouldn't give the green light. Harry Dawson, a church convener who led the prayer meeting, said: We believe God has answered our prayers. I think if the licence had been granted there would have been a lot of disappointment among Christians, but as it is there's jubilation.

The committee turned down the application because there had been complaints about the shop's window display, which sells lingerie and adult magazines but is not classed as a sex shop.

There were supposed concerns about the shop being 400 yards from churches, 30 yards from the Gateway Pre-School at the Salvation Army Citadel and 450 yards from St Vincent College.

Lib Dem leader Councillor Dave Smith said: There would be children going past the premises and nothing has been done to appease the residents. I've been contacted by many people and they have been utterly disgusted by what's going on in the shop.

A sex shop in Newcastle’s ‘gay village’ has been granted a licence.

The shop, called Clone Zone, will be in Scotswood Road, close to another licensed sex shop, the Sven Adult Bookstore, which is primarily aimed at heterosexuals.

Members of the city council regulatory committee approved a licence which will allow the new shop to trade seven days a week.

There were 28 objectors including nearby St Mary’s Cathedral and the Newcastle-based Christian Institute, along with a protest petition.

Councillors were told there was also a petition and two letters supporting the application.

The London-based Clone Zone chain has nine shops across the country and one of the directors, David Edwards, told councillors: We are basically a lifestyle store. Edwards said they will sell clothing, designer underwear and books and will provide information for gay people – but need a licence to sell R18 DVDs.

Solicitor Susanna Poppleston, representing Clone Zone, said it is a long established and well thought of business, which does not have a sleazy image.

She said the sale of R18 DVDs is legal. It is no more regulated than the sale of alcohol – you have to have a licence to sell alcohol, she said.

The application was supported by the gay and bisexual men's health project, Mesmac, which says the shop will be an outlet for information to the community.

Simon Calvert, deputy director of the Christian Institute, said the location, close to the cathedral, family attractions such as the Centre for Life and Discovery Museum, new flats, hotel and office developments and a children’s nursery, was inappropriate: The character of the area makes it unsuitable for multiple sex shops .

Chris Bottrell, of East Harling, already runs a wholesale operation importing and distributing porn videos across the country from a unit on the village's Cloverfield Industrial Estate at Lopham Road.

In November he was given a sex establishment licence by Breckland Council's general purposes committee to open a shop called Lush XXX on the first floor of the unit.

He still needs planning permission to change the use of the building to allow retail use. Breckland's development control committee will discuss the scheme on this week and planning officers are recommending approval.

Harling Parish Council has opposed the scheme and there have also been letters of objection from local people with a number of grounds for wanting the plan rejected, including lack of car parking, increased traffic, setting a precedent for retail use on the site, impact on nearby homes and claims that it is an inappropriate use in a rural community and it is neither wanted nor needed .

Bottrell said he had operated the wholesale business from the unit for three years without any complaints.

A report to councillors by planning officers says: While the moral and social concerns of the parish council are acknowledged, these issues are not ones that fall to be controlled through the planning system. In planning terms this application must be considered only on the basis of the merits of a retail use from a light industrial unit.

Officers will say that planning conditions could be imposed to restrict goods sold from the unit, hours of operation and access improvements.