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.

A scathing attack on Worthing Council's past refusals to allow a licensed sex establishment in Rowlands Road has been made by Kathleen Sutton, of the existing Secret Desires shop.

She told the Herald this week: Worthing Council must not sit there and be biased, and she urged councillors to get rid of their prejudices against something which does no harm to anybody.

Ms Sutton, director of parent company Shop Tonight, was speaking in support of her latest (and fourth) annual bid for the licence, which would allow the shop at 101 Rowlands Road to sell R18-rated porn films.

But nutters of Worthing Churches Together is again set to oppose the application, which is due to be considered by Worthing licensing councillors next March.

Ms Sutton said the councillors were not elected to cast judgement on what was already legal. There shouldn't be a debate on 'we don't like porn, or we don't like sex. It's not up to councillors to say 'we don't want it'. Wake up, Worthing, we have a strip club now.

She added that things which nutter Steve Stevens had warned against when Secret Desires had first opened, had not come about: There has not been a decrease in property price (due to the shop's location), and there has been no increase in crime.

Worthing Tabernacle nutter pastor the Rev Mark Weedon told the Herald yesterday: Demand for a product or service does not legitimise its supply. Many have observed over recent decades the link between an increasingly permissive society and the consequent breakdown in marriages, an increase in unwanted pregnancies, rape, and so on. We are asking the council to continue to refuse Secret Desires' application for an R18 licence.

Steve Stevens and his wife are too ill to organise a petition this year, but he hopes that letters alone will do it.

Portsmouth sex shops have had their rates slashed by a third. The price of renewing a licence for the city's two sex shops, in Arundel Street and Albert Road, has fallen by £4,000 from £12,000 to £8,000.

The city council said income from licence fees should cover the cost of running the service so taxpayers aren't landed with a bill.

Licensing manager Nickii Humphreys said: We asked for a reduction in sex shop licenses on the basis that the income from two premises is £24,000 a year and we don't spend enough office time on those two premises to justify that – the income is greater than our expenditure.

The future of a Sexy Superstore on Teesside is in doubt after it failed to prove it was entitled to open without planning permission.

The Pulse and Cocktails store, selling adult toys and garments in a former car showroom, launched a Court of Appeal bid after Redcar and Cleveland Council failed to grant it planning permission.

Cocktails Ltd, which owns the store in Commerce Way, Skippers Lane Industrial Estate, applied to the council for a certificate of lawful use which meant it could use the site without getting full planning permission. It took the view the site was previously used for the sale of motor vehicles and so it was entitled to retail use.

But while the council issued a separate licence for it to operate as a sex shop, its planners turned down planning consent - a move later backed by a Government inspector.

During a Government planning inquiry, the inspector stated the last planning permission granted in 1997, for a franchise motor dealership, could not be stretched to allow the sex store to operate on the premises.

The High Court also ruled the company was wrong in its interpretation of the law. However, during a test case in the Court of Appeal this week, Cocktails' counsel Tim Buley argued the dictionary definition of dealership was a business which buys and sells things, or a business licensed to sell a particular product by a manufacturer.

On that interpretation, he claimed, the car dealership consent also covered use as a sex shop.

However, Lord Justice Pill, referring to the planning inspector's original ruling, said: The inspector's conclusion was the proper one in the circumstances and there was no error of law.

This latest decision means that Cocktails face having to apply for fresh planning permission.

The landlord of a sex shop made famous by TV show That Peter Kay Thing has been hit with a hefty fine for allowing it to be run as a business without a licence.

John Gill, landlord of the town centre building which houses Softys' Hard Stuff, was taken to court by Bolton Council.

He pleaded guilty to knowingly permitting premises to be used as a sex shop without a sex shop licence, and was ordered to pay £4,000.

Bolton Magistrates' Court heard that council licensing officers approached Gill in November, 2007.
He claimed that as the landlord, he did not know the nature of the business being run from the property in Bridge Street, Bolton, and subsequently threatened to terminate the lease.

However, at court, he pleaded guilty and was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

Softys' Hard Stuff became a household name in 2000 as a result of the episode of That Peter Kay Thing entitled The Ice Cream Man Cometh.

Gill said last night: I'm going to appeal against the fine. I have now told the people at the shop to get their act together.

Nice N Naughty and many other businesses throughout the local area gathered for the 9th Warrington Business Awards, with many of them celebrating their success!

Nice N Naughty were applauded and highly commended for their retail presence in Warrington whilst competing in the Best Retailer 2008 category.

The Nice N Naughty retail store, which spans in excess of 3000sq ft offers an enormous range of adult toys, clothes, costumes, footwear, novelties and specialist products is a firm favorite amongst the local community.

Nice N Naughty opened their 2nd store (Chester being the 1st) in Warrington in February 2003, identifying a high demand for a store in that location and have since opened a further 9 branches, taking Nice N Naughty to a total of 11 stores throughout the North West of England & Wales.

Trish Murray, Retail Director had this to say, We are thrilled to be recognized in these mainstream business awards and are delighted to be part of the local business community here in Warrington. We've created jobs here as we have 5 staff from the Warrington area in our employment and we also sponsor events and teams within the community.

Other celebrations for Nice N Naughty this year include, ETO's Best Retailer Award, and the eLine European Award for Best Retail Chain. With no sign of slowing down Nice N Naughty are continuing to grow and develop as a company, now employing over 30 staff, and led by Director Simon Prescott with a clear vision, hard work and determination to succeed, will no doubt secure them many more awards to in the future.

Somewhat more modestly sized than the petrol station next door

Tony Ibrahim said this week that he will refuse to remove the sign for his Kiss Kiss sex shop, despite being ordered by Fenland District Council to take it down.

The sign is on the A47 at Guyhirn to advertise the shop which Ibrahim hopes to make Britain's biggest sex store outside London.

A council spokesman said: We have written to inform Mr Ibrahim that the advertisements on the roadside outside his shop are in breach of licensing regulations and we want them removed. If he fails to remove them the council has the power to prosecute.

We are also telling Mr Ibrahim that he needs to remove the adverts on the A47 as these breach planning regulations.

Ibrahim had previously been given approval for the sign, which has been standing for more than two weeks.

It was reported last week how Malcolm Moss, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, wrote to Tim Pilsbury, chief executive of Fenland District Council, requesting a statement of the conditions of Obrahim's signage imposed by the district council's licensing committee.

Moss claimed: I'm happy to have highlighted the problems caused by the sign. It is huge and disproportionate to the area and it can cause a distraction to motorists.

Ibrahim said: I have worked with the district council's licensing, planning and legal services department and everything had been approved. It appears that some legal technicalities have been brought up by Mr Moss. I can not go into the details but my solicitor is dealing with them. I'm confident that everything will be resolved and I have no plans to take the sign down. The sign does not have any rude or offensive words on it. I'm just trying to advertise my business and I'm not trying to offend anyone.

The highly prestigious, annual Erotic eLine Awards show was held in the Festival Center of the Estrel Hotel in Berlin on 17th October.

The eLine awards are run in conjunction with the world famous, Venus International Trade Fair attended by virtually every major company within the adult industry. With over 300 exhibitors from 38 countries, it's a huge event, attracting wide interest from the media. Representatives from magazines, the press and several TV channels were in attendance to cover the proceedings.

Adult producers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, directors and stars from around the world were honoured at the eLine Awards with over 500 of the most prominent people in the business, including many famous celebrities, attending the glamorous gala dinner. In total, outstanding achievements in 76 categories spanning the adult video, retail, novelty and internet industries were recognized.

Nice 'n' Naughty is therefore absolutely thrilled to have been crowned Best Retail Chain at the Awards which are contested by companies throughout Europe, many of whom are larger and more established, such as Beate Uhse with 280 retail outlets across several countries. By way of comparison, UK based Nice 'n' Naughty currently has 11 stores, predominantly in the North West region.

Simon Prescott, Managing Director of Nice 'n' Naughty, had this to say, We are extremely proud to have won this award and to be recognised on the European stage. Taking into consideration the sheer scale and professionalism of the competition we were up against, this is a massive achievement and a credit to our entire team here at Nice 'n' Naughty.

MP Malcolm Moss today urged planners to order the removal of the Kiss Kiss sex shop sign near Wisbech.

In a letter to Tim Pilsbury, the chief executive of Fenland District Council, Moss said: I write to express my incredulity that an enormous pink sign has been erected as close to the pavement as possible, advertising the wears of the sex shop in Guyhirn.

I can't think of anything more distracting than the pink sign from 'Kiss Kiss'. I would be grateful if I could have a statement on the conditions of signage that the Licensing Committee have imposed upon the proprietor of Kiss Kiss. I trust that the owner will be told to take the sign down immediately.

Neon signs, visible sex-shop paraphernalia and gaudy shopfront displays are to be banned from Dublin's Capel Street under a new city council initiative.

The council intends to improve the street by giving it special conservation status to protect the heritage, architecture and character of the area.

Owners will not be allowed to make any material changes to their buildings without seeking permission and will also have to obtain permission for advertising signs both projecting and flat against the buildings.

The council will seek the reinstatement of architectural features; illuminated signs or scrolling illuminated signs will not be permitted except in exceptional circumstance; inappropriate or garish colours will not be allowed; there can be no amplified announcements from shops; and goods or advertising structures will not be allowed on the footpath.

The council will also refuse to allow satellite dishes on the front of buildings and alarm boxes, wiring and TV aerials will have to be discretely located to comply with the designation.

While the designation does not allow the council to remove sex shops and other establishments from the street, garish or provocative frontages will not be permitted.

Local labour councillor Emer Costello said she hoped Capel Street would be returned to its former glory and attract high-end retailers.

Carlisle's only licensed sex shop has had its annual licence fee slashed by the city council.

In future, the Private Shop in London Road will have to pay £5,639 for a sex establishment licence.

It argued that the previous figure of £13,278 could put it out of business. Carlisle City Council's licensing panel agreed.

Chairman David Morton said he was persuaded to cut the fee and councillor Michael Boaden said: I would find it more difficult to stomach a situation where we had no licensed premises and the vacuum was filled by unlicensed and dangerous activity.

Licensing officer Jim Messenger told councillors the fee should be reasonable. If we decide to leave it as it is, we could face a judicial review. From legal advice I've taken, it would be difficult to justify.

The fee was set at £1,000 in 1989, raised to £7,000 in 1990 and then in line with inflation each year since. Messenger said the big increase in 1990 was to ensure that revenue covered the costs of prosecuting unlicensed sex establishments. In practice, these costs had been less than expected.

Messenger added that the Private Shop was well run and had caused the council hardly any problems. He also said councillors could not, by law, take moral considerations into account when setting the licence fee.

Any new sex shops in Carlisle will have to pay £6,639 in the first year. The annual renewal fee will be £5,639 and there will be a £1,000 one-off fee if the licence for existing premises is transferred to a new owner.

Couples are choosing romantic nights in rather than spending money on a night out as the credit crunch bites, says Skegness sex shop Pulse and Cocktails.

Manager of the shop ,Linda Boothby, says sales are soaring as people seek to cheer themselves up during the economic depression.

She said: For less than the average price of a night out on the town, couples can get a handful of goodies from (us] that will give them nights of endless passion and fun.

She firmly believes the lack of disposable income has had an affect on her sales as people seek cheaper ways of entertaining themselves

More than 100 pornographic DVDs have been seized at a Leamington sex shop. Employees from Warwick District Council's licensing committee and Warwickshire County Council's trading substandards department visited Private, in High Street.

During the search officers seized 100 R18 rated DVDs, which require a sex establishment licence to sell, and seven rated as 'unclassified' the sale of which is illegal in the UK. A Warwick District Council spokesman said: We seized the DVDs because the shop did not have a suitable licence to sell the material.

The shop owner was warned about a possible £10,000 penalty and sent an application for a licence, which costs around £495, after district council employees visited on September 1. But this has not yet been granted by the district council.

Moralist Councillor Roger Copping (NotSoLiberal Dem, Leamington Manor) visited Private on Thursday. He described the DVDs as evil and believes the shop is in a sensitive location. He said: The thought of these DVDs being left around the home carelessly by family member and being seen by children and young people fills me with horror. They are evil.

Copping campaigned against adult shop Lovejoys when its application to sell R18 DVDs was rejected in 2004: This part of town needs regeneration, not seedy shops like this.

Carlisle's only licensed sex shop wants the city council to reduce its licence fee.

The Private Shop in London Road has to pay £13,278 every year for a sex establishment licence.

It says that is too much, especially as competition from websites selling sex toys and DVDs is putting high-street sex shops out of business.

Carlisle City Council's regulatory panel, which meets on Wednesday, is likely to halve the fee to £6,639.

A survey of 44 other councils showed huge variations. The lowest licence fee was £625 and the highest £20,360. But the averages of £6,197 for a new licence and £4,971 for renewals were well below the rate in Carlisle.

Mike McCann, chairman of the Adult Industry Trade Association, has written in support of the Private Shop: Over the last three years the world wide web has totally changed the way that consumers purchase adult products and has had a dramatic declining effect on all our licensed sex shops. Market conditions have changed considerably and high licence fees cannot be sustained without having an adverse effect on the whole of the UK adult industry. There is a serious danger that these small but important and legitimate businesses could reduce dramatically [in number].

He adds that the number of licensed sex establishments in the UK peaked at just over 400 in 2005-6 but has since fallen to between 340 and 350.

...And on the 7th day nutters may impose their nonsense on other people

Sex shops in Derby could be allowed to open on Sundays.

Derby City Council is considering whether to make it standard practice to allow sex shops to open on Sunday on either a permanent or semi-permanent basis.

The authority's general licensing committee will consider the move when it meets on October 15.

It comes after some licensed sex shops in the city applied to the council to change their opening hours.

The current conditions on sex shops ban Sunday opening.

A sex shop in Bournemouth has had its licence renewed, despite opposition from a few nutters

Bournemouth Borough Council's licensing board voted to renew the licence of the Simply Pleasure.com Uncut adult store at Holdenhurst Road after receiving five objections from members of the public.

The shop, which sells pornographic magazines, DVDs, sex toys and lingerie has been trading since 1985.

Objectors to the renewal said the shop's merchandise damaged the area's reputation and compromised the business of the many guesthouses there. They also feared the shop was a corrupting influence on local children and that the type of customers the shop attracts could endanger children.

The shop's proprietor, Tim Hemming told councillors that: The stereotypical image of the type of person who uses sex shops is outdated. We have gone mainstream.

Hemming also told the board that 35% of his customers are female and that every type of person comes into the shop. He denied sex toys were displayed in a place where they could be viewed by children.

Hemming said his shop compared favourably with the Ann Summers store on Commercial Road, adding that he was uncomfortable that a high street chain openly displayed sex toys at the back of its store where they could easily be seen by children and teenagers. In contrast, his shop has blacked-out windows and staff prevent underage customers from entering, he told the board.

Cllr David Kelsey, vice president of the licensing board, defended the decision to renew the licence: It's a perfectly well run business. It doesn't downgrade the area at all.

A licensed adult shop has won the right to display mannequins in the window, as long as the display doesn't involve anything naughty.

Adult World in Islington Green, Islington, has also been given permission to stay open until 10pm rather than 8pm, following the new rulings made at an Islington Council meeting on Wednesday.

Owner Gary Best asked the council for permission to remove the opaque film on the windows which prevented passers-by from seeing in. Best assured Islington Council that Adult World sells high-quality underwear on the ground floor, while the basement, where customers can buy films, is the only licensed area of the store.

The licensing hours, which Adult World also inherited from Clone Zone, restricted trading until 8pm Monday to Saturdays. Best wanted the shop to be allowed to stay open until 10pm and to trade on Sundays.

Two residents and local Labour councillor Martin Klute wrote letters of objection to the council about the bid to change the licence.

But Best said: We've had a couple of complaints and have taken 18 DVDs which are for sale in Virgin and HMV away. We've taken away business to make people happy. We have to ask people to leave the shop at 8pm because they often come in after work, which is where our request for longer hours comes from.

Councillor Tracy Ismail (Liberal Democrat), who chaired the meeting, said: We could add a condition to the licence that only clothing is displayed in the window - no mannequins with whips in their hands or anything naughty - and no kind of 'attachments'.

The committee agreed that Adult World could stay open from 10am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays, and from noon until 8pm on Sundays including bank holidays, but excluding Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

They also agreed that the opaque film on the window could be removed, and window displays permitted, as long as they involve non-adult merchandise only. General goods must be located at the front of the shop, with the adult area and the general goods areas clearly defined.

A sex shop in Islington has applied to open on Sundays. Adult World, on Islington Green, also wants to extend its opening hours until 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Bosses at the store will find out next Wednesday whether they will be given the go-ahead - but already nutters living nearby are predictably up in arms.

Councillor Martin Klute (Labour) said: I objected to the previous application on the grounds that Islington Green is a family area, and not a suitable location for a sex shop that openly advertises itself. For the shop to extend its opening hours represents both a further degradation of amenity for the area. Furthermore, Sunday is still more of a family and recreational day.

A decision will be made at Islington Town Hall on Wednesday at 2.30pm.

Plans to open the county's largest sex shop in Guyhirn have been given the go-ahead by Fenland Council's licensing committee.

Dozens of nutters packed Fenland's council chamber for the hearing on Tony Ibrahim's application for a sex establishment licence at the former Little Chef restaurant on the A47.

Objectors claimed the sex shop would lower the tone of the area and give the wrong impression of Fenland to visitors.

Guyhirn villager Marilyn Hyde proffered the worthless argument that she would be unable to sell her home if the sex shop got the go-ahead: If the application is agreed my house is worthless. Who will want to buy it?

Justine Sands, headteacher of Guyhirn school, scraped the barrel and said the site was undesirable for such a venture and explained children have to look at their local environment as part of the National Curriculum - the sex shop would be part of their environment. She also pointed out the premises were close to a bus stop used by children, who would be able to see the shop.

Solicitor Steve MacGregor, who represented Ibrahim, said his client had chosen to apply for a licence, but could have opened an unlicensed premises and the council would have had no control over the business.

The panel took around an hour to make a decision and agreed to grant the licence for 12 months subject conditions, which included having control over the colour used to paint out the windows.

Ibrahim said We are virtually ready to open, all we need to do is fit some shelves and racking and order the stock. I want to make the shop more like a European-style shop where people are proud to walk in and look around with a trolley, instead of being embarrassed.

Update: Resigned

9th October 2008. Based on article from fenlandcitizen.co.uk

Phil Wait, Fenland ward councillor for Parson Drove and Wisbech St Mary, has resigned following the decision to grant a licence for the sex shop at Guyhirn.

Wait said in his resignation letter that he was still having difficulty accepting the decision of the licensing committee.

He is concerned about the location of the proposed business and feels it is in a prominent entrance to Fenland. Wait said he came on to the council to support the community and doesn't feel the right decision has been made. His letter said he didn't want to be part of that team.

Chester based Adult retailer Nice ‘n’ Naughty has made it to the much sought after short-list for two separate categories at the highly acclaimed annual Cheshire Business Awards.

Nice N Naughty have been selected by a panel of judges, who scrutinised hundreds of businesses across a wide array of sectors, spanning the whole of Cheshire to be shortlisted for the ‘Employer of the Year Award’ and the ‘Women in Business Award’.

Retail Director, Trish Murray, the subject for the highly coveted ‘Women in Business’ Award, was thrilled with the news and had this to say, Jacqueline Gold brought the Adult industry to the forefront of people’s minds in the 90’s with her well recognised Ann Summers brand and home party plans. Her business focus, determination to succeed has earned her a place in the history books. Nice N Naughty has taken it to the next level, and have brought high quality licensed adult stores to the high street. We are changing the image of adult shops, creating professional retail outlets that are no different to any other high street store. To be nominated for such prestigious awards, further illustrates the changing face of the UK’s licensed sex shop industry.

The second category Nice N Naughty are shortlisted for is the Employer of the Year Award. Richard Allmark, National Retail Manager had this to say, At Nice N Naughty we believe that it’s a real team effort and we wholeheartedly recognise the importance of each individual staff member, that they are essential elements that operate and power the Nice N Naughty machine. Our healthy work environment and business culture ensure the staff are motivated, listened to, developed and rewarded.

Nice N Naughty Director, Simon Prescott added: Our staff get good wages, conditions, health benefits and even gym membership, so it’s easy for us to attract high calibre workers. Hopefully our business philosophy and continued awards success will help break down barriers and change people’s perceptions of sex shops as seedy back street premises with boarded up windows.

The winners are to be announced at an Awards Ceremony on the 19th September.

Oswestry's first ever 'sex shop' opened last week.

'Good Vibrations' on Leg Street had its official opening last Saturday and will be selling adult fancy dress costumes to cater to the ever growing stag and hen party industry.

The shop also sells novelty items, but it is not licensed to sell adult films or magazines.

Much of the shop's products are typical fancy dress costumes, with the more adult items towards the back of the shop and not in view of the front window.

Husband and wife owners, John and Beverley Galloway, say they hope the shop will bring a bit of fun to the town and something a bit different.

The shop received a few minor complaints when it first opened, but has been generally well received, according to its owners.

Harmony Films and its retail arm each received an award from UK-based industry magazine Erotic Trade Only, acknowledging the mix of high production values, gifted performers and steamy performances in its titles.

ETO awarded Harmony Films' Young Harlots: Riding School Best British R18 DVD.

Also the Harmony store at 167 Charing Cross Road in central London won Best Individual Store. Harmony's Oxford Street store was also nominated for this year's Best Individual Store award.

We're very pleased that ETO recognizes the work and quality we put into our productions, Jason Maskell, Harmony Films' sales and marketing manager, said: Young Harlots: Riding School is not only one of our best movies, it's also representative of all the movies we shoot. Beautiful women, amazing locations and unparalleled action are in every Harmony Films title.

Today's consumers demand excellence and we not only provide that with our movies, but in our stores as well. Our three locations are inviting to men and women alike and our knowledgeable staff maintains the highest standards of customer service. A win for one of our stores is a win for all our stores and we're proud of Charing Cross Road's Best Individual Store trophy, as well as Oxford Street store's nomination.

Nice n Naughty is celebrating a ‘four-midable’ success after being named the best in the business by their industry peers for a record fourth year running.

The Chester-based company that has 11 stores across the North West of England, Midlands and Wales was named Retailer of the Year at the Erotic Trade Only Awards – the industry equivalent of the Oscars.

At a glittering Birmingham awards ceremony, Nice n Naughty secured the coveted crown in an unprecedented run of success, beating rivals such as Ann Summers and the Private chain of sex shops – to mark its 9th anniversary in spectacular style.

Delighted company founder, Simon Prescott said the ceremony took place almost to the day since he started the company in 1999 from humble beginnings.

In a double boost Nice n Naughty Wholesale also won best oversees R18 film for Supernatural which is produced by the world’s leading adult movie maker, USA based Wicked Pictures.

Simon emphasised: “We have come a very long as since I started the business with one retail outlet in Chester. Nice n Naughty is a massive success story, built on a very dedicated and committed workforce. Customers can be assured that when they buy from Nice n Naughty they are buying from the best in the business. I am so very very proud of the retail team and would particularly like to thank our National Retail Manager Richard Allmark and his team for their total commitment, support and sheer hard work over the last 12 months. They never cease to amaze me.”

He added: This award is voted for by the industry itself so is extremely gratifying to realise we are so well respected and acknowledged by our peers.

The owner of Galway’s adult cinema continued to elude city council officials this week after efforts to serve notice on the mystery businessman proved repeatedly unsuccessful.

District Court Judge Eamon O’Brien granted Galway City Council solicitor Robert Meehan permission a fortnight ago to have the owner of the Galway city cinema, who was named as John Kelleher, brought before the court on July 17.

Meehan was seeking to have Kelleher give reasons why he should not be imprisoned for contempt of court after he refused to comply with an order issued last month that directed him to close the cinema.

The court order, which was issued on June 4 by Judge Mary Fahy, ordered the Jade Winters sex shop and the adjacent adult cinema to close and remove all signage from its premises after the courts were informed that they were operating without planning permission.

When Kelleher failed to comply with the court order the city council began the proceedings to gain permission to have him brought back before the court for contempt. However, the council was never able to serve notice on Kelleher because they were unable to trace a person by that name within Galway city.

As of Friday the Galway City Council had received no update on the whereabouts of the person in question.

The 24-seat cinema, which was first brought to the attention of officials by Mayor Padraig Conneely in May, is located behind the Jade Winters sex shop in the Liosban Industrial Estate on the Tuam Road.

As of late the shop and the cinema remain open for business.

Licensing chiefs have given the go-ahead for a sex shop to open up in Wellington despite scores of objections to the proposals from town nutters.

Telford & Wrekin Council had received letters of opposition to Nicola Dicken's bid for a licence to operate a sex shop at 1A Vineyard Road.

But members of the council's licensing panel today decided to allow Mrs Dicken to open after discussing the issue behind closed doors for nearly two hours.

The shop will only be allowed to open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9.30am to 6pm and Thursdays from 9.30am to 8pm.

No advertisements will be allowed outside the premises apart from the shop name, any goods or displays should be discreet and tasteful, and the interior of the shop should not be visible to passers-by.

Mrs Dicken, who already runs Romeo & Juliet sex shop in Ketley Business Park with her husband, Roger, said she was “over the moon” with the decision.

Mr Dicken said: Telford & Wrekin is obviously a forward-thinking council and they have come to the understanding that licensed sex shops can play a part and do have a place in society.

He told councillors the proposed location was a mixed use area and they had not had any problems when they had operated a sex shop at Trench Lock industrial estate, which was also near homes and a children's activity centre.

A burglar has been caught on CCTV breaking into a sex shop - to raid shelves and apparently try on the sexy clothes.

The man throws a concrete block through the window of 'sexy superstore' Pulse & Cocktails in Skegness before darting behind the counter.

But instead of heading straight for the till, he pulls stockings and a pink wig from the shelves. He rampages around the shop snatching some naughty knickers off the racks and two pink PVC nurses outfits.

He then goes to the back of the shop with an armful of goods and pulls off his top - seemingly to try them on - before re-emerging and choosing another wig as the shop's alarm rings.

Shop manager Louise Whenman described the incident - which left a bill of £600 - as 'unreal': If only he had come into the shop in the daytime, we could have shown him many more outfits and helped him find the right size.

She added: He would have been devastated - the outfit on the dummy was a small and he would have needed a large.

Police confirmed that they had carried out an investigation and appealed for information. A spokesperson said: We haven't managed to trace the man but the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should call Skegness CID on 01754 614235.

Plans to open a new sex shop in Telford have been met with the inevitable nutter opposition.

Opponents of the bid have sent licensing officials about 50 letters of objection over plans to open a licensed sex shop at 1A Vineyeard Road, Wellington.

Applicant Nicola Dicken, who runs the Romeo and Juliet sex shop at Ketley Business Park with husband Roger, has applied for the licence to operate the shop. The couple are also seeking to renew the licence for their existing store.

Wellington Town Council has voiced its concerns over schoolchildren being in the vicinity of the proposed site, while other objectors have spoken out on moral grounds.

A letter sent to licensing bosses by Wrekin College says the school is “alarmed” at the proposal, adding that it could undermine expensive child protection measures they have implemented.

Another letter of objection reads: This is a nice residential area. We do not want the tone of the neighbourhood lowered by such a business as a sex shop.

Mr Dicken said : The reason we have applied for the shop there is because it's in a mixed use area which is where sex shops must go under council rules. Many of the objections are on moral grounds, but there is also talk of schools and children being nearby. There are schools and children throughout society. If you look at Shrewsbury, there has been a sex shop across the river from the Wakeman School for years. Under-18s will not be allowed into our shop.

Members of Telford & Wrekin Council's licensing committee will decide on the application on July 21.

The Temptations sex shop in Halifax has been operating since 2004 and, despite a letter of objection from Ibrar Hussain claiming it promoted evil and wrongdoing in the town centre, Calderdale Council voted to renew its licence.

A supposed 130 letters of objection were submitted to Calderdale Council about the shop being offensive and provocative. But the meeting was told that only one letter was proven to come from a genuine source.

The newly-elected Mohammed Ilyas (No So Lib Dem) was the only one of 15 councillors at the meeting who voted against the shop, on the grounds it corrupted the youth of Halifax.

Danielle Coombs (Lab, Ovenden), said: If you want to see our young people being corrupted, look at them falling out of our local pubs. Are we really going to ruin someone's business over this?"

A motion condemning the opening of "an adult sex shop" in Killarney and seeking to bar all other such businesses from the tourist town has been overwhelmingly passed by town councillors.

Although the motion mentioned opposing a specific shop in Glebe Place, Killarney, Co Kerry, it is now council policy to exclude sex shops from new retail units and this will be included in the new town development plan.

The new draft development plan for Killarney now lists adult shops, taxi offices and takeaway food outlets as non-conforming retail developments.

South Kerry Independent Alliance councillor Michael Gleeson said he feared the morality of young people would be affected by a visit to a sex shop as the young people of Killarney would go there out of curiosity. Sex shops would also be visited by some people of "dubious character", he noted.

Only one of the nine Killarney town councillors, Labour Party member Seán O'Grady voted against the move opposing the opening of a sex shop. O'Grady said sex shops were aimed at adults. Nobody is proposing that we close down pubs because they are frequented by young people.

Plans for a discreet back entrance at a Port Talbot sex shop have been blocked by the council.

Simon Sternchuss, owner of the Secret Desires store in Taibach, applied to change the name of the store to “licensed sex shop” was also refused by Neath Port Talbot Council's registration and licensing committee.

Tracy Richards, manager of Sternschuss's store in Cardiff, represented him at the June 24 meeting, in his absence. She said: If we have a fire exit – we thought we would use it as a discreet entrance for our customers as well. It would be the same as the front entrance, with a buzzer system so we wouldn't let anyone underage in. We have a back entrance at the Cardiff store, which 80% of our customers use.

Chairman of the committee, Ted Latham, said: We have received letters of complaint from a local councillor, who is concerned about the changes in the licence, especially changing its name to ‘sex shop'. We have refused to allow the name to be changed as there is no evidence of people being confused as to what it is.

Member of the committee, Coun Marian Lewis, said: I find it very hard to believe that people do not know what it is. To change the name would offend a lot of people - there are a lot of children and elderly people in the area.

The application to have a fire exit was approved, but using it as a back entrance for customers was rejected.

Miss Richards said an appeal would be lodged on behalf of the Secret Desires shop.

A letter of objection from Taibach councillor Anthony Taylor read:

I am writing to formally object to the proposal before the Registration & Licensing Committee on Tuesday, 24 June 2008 to use the phrase “Licensed Sex Shop” on the front of Secret Desires, Commercial Road, Taibach, Port Talbot.

In an age, when youngsters are being exposed to sex at an earlier stage in their lives, I, and my ward colleague, Coun John Rogers, strongly believe that this application would be a step in the wrong direction.

The signage already in place at Secret Desires makes it perfectly obvious to those who wish to take advantage of its products that it is an adult shop.

It informs prospective customers simply and without confusion whilst at the same time is as discreet as could be expected in the circumstances. The very term “adult shop” is easily understood by over 18s, whilst at the same time can be explained away to young children who may start asking questions about its activities. The use of the word “sex” on the shop front cannot.

Adult retailer Nice ‘n' Naughty is bringing a whole new meaning to ‘Sex Education' after four members of staff achieved university degrees, which further illustrates the changing face of the UK's licensed sex shop industry.

To mark their achievements they are all being sent on a free two-week holiday to Egypt, courtesy of kind-hearted boss Simon Prescott!

Thomas Buggins from the chain's Seel Street store in Liverpool has joined Julia Taylor from the High Street shop in Bangor, Louise Jones from Brook Street, Chester and Richard Tandy from an outlet in London Street, Southport in a quadruple graduation success.

As reward for their success Store Director Simon is planning a special celebratory dinner with commemorative gifts and is also sending them on a memorable holiday: I am really proud of all of them and want to recognise their dedication and commitment. We have tried to support them from day one and now they have completed their studies I want them to celebrate in style.

Simon continued: Nice ‘n' Naughty provided financial help where necessary to cover the cost of books and other learning materials as not all of them qualified for grants or student loans. On occasions some found juggling the costs of living with increasing fuel, energy and food costs difficult to balance whilst being a part time student.

Simon highlighted that adult retail staff are not what people necessarily perceive them to be. They are highly intelligent, dedicated professionals who can combine productive careers whilst studying to achieve some of the highest qualifications available. I suppose you could say this brings a whole new meaning to sex education!”

A sex book shop is closing down due to the high costs of provocative advertising and a drop in interest from the community.

Soho Original Bookshop has held its spot in Kilburn High Road, for four years but blames plummeting sales partly on not being allowed to showcase raunchy material or neon lights in the main shop window for so long.

Antony Alghabban, the store's general manager, said: Restrictions on the signs definitely made bringing in customers harder. If you can't tell people on the street what your business is then that's not going to get them in. I don't think people in Kilburn are particularly against these sorts of shops, it's just the licensing is so expensive.

Businesses selling sexually explicit material are required by law to pay a £9,000 levy for their Sex Establishment License.

The shop's four staff will be relocated to other stores after the closure date in a couple of months' time.

Nice n Naughty Ltd will be the first adult retail store short listed to win an “Award for Business” at a glittering gala in Warrington, Cheshire.

The prestigious Warrington Business Awards is now in its ninth year and Nice n Naughty have been short listed to the final 2 for the “Buisness of the Year” Award for Nice n Naughty's Warrington flagship store, out of approximately 1000 businesses in the catchment area.

Nice n Naughty had to meet a stringent criteria, which included providing quality throughout the organisation's structure, strong communications, and good employee/employer relations; all of which were highlighted when Nice n Naughty successfully retained their ‘Investors In People' Status at their recent re-assessment earlier this year.

The glittering gala dinner evening is being held at the prestigious Park Royal Hotel, Stretton, Warrington on Friday, July 18, 2008.

Philip Price, Regional Manager for the Warrington store added It is a great achievement, for both Nice n Naughty as a company, but also the staff within the Warrington branch. What this shows is the commitment and dedication of the company to change the perceived concept of the adult retail industry.

The adult industry has been on the High Street for many years, and to be recognized alongside all other businesses is a great achievement. As a company, Nice n Naughty have gained numerous awards through the adult industry, but to know that you are finally accepted alongside other companies in a mainstream award ceremony is a reflection on the Nice n Naughty ethos, knowing that through dedication and commitment, we are changing peoples perception of the adult retail industry.

Nice 'n' Naughty were  successful in their bid for an open window display for their Wednesbury sex shop.

They applied over three months ago to Sandwell Council. They were invited to attend a special committee meeting after objections were received from local councillors for the Wednesbury area.

Nice 'n' Naughty has made headline news in the local paper: ‘ANGER OVER SEX SHOP WINDOW DISPLAY PLAN’, with comments from Councillor Elaine Costigan saying that Wednesbury was not the place for such a sexy display’ and ‘people don’t want to walk through the High Street and see women’s underwear on display.

The newspaper article resulted in the local radio station, interviewing people in the street outside the shop asking for their opinions on the morning of the hearing.

Richard Allmark and Trish Murray attended the meeting and presented their case to a 10 strong committee to convince them that there weren't going to be dancing dildos in the window. After a 40 minute hearing they were finally granted permission to have a display.

An hour after receiving the permission, Richard and store manager Lee Hickman organised a window display with a banner display stand and lingerie.

Looks good.

Shoppers could be greeted with displays of saucy underwear under a Wednesbury sex shop’s new plans.

Nice ’n’ Naughty currently has blacked out windows but boss Richard Allmark wants to decorate it with lingerie instead. The retail manager has applied to Sandwell Council for the changes to the Lower High Street shop which he hopes will draw in more customers.

He also wants to banish the image of the stereotypical sex shop of yesteryear. But the application, which has been submitted to the council’s licensing committee, has drawn inevitable nutter criticism.

Town councillor Elaine Costigan said the town was not the right place for such a sexy display and said she would be objecting to the proposal: What will all the older people say? This isn’t right at all, I’ll certainly be sending a letter of objection

People don’t want to walk through the High Street and see women’s underwear on display. Wednesbury is an old town, it’s a nice place to live and I genuinely think people would be annoyed if it got the go-ahead.

In a letter to the planning committee, Mr Allmark said: The windows are all very tasteful, have nothing displayed that is offensive and would make the store far more appealing. He added that the rest of the shop would be blocked off so passers-by would not be able to see inside.

The application will be heard at the meeting of the Licensing Committee on Tuesday 17th June.

A sex shop operating from a former Teesside car showroom has won a key round in its legal fight to stay in its premises - claimed to be the region’s joint largest adult superstore.

The owner of Pulse and Cocktails, based at a former Suzuki car dealership, won the right to appeal against a ruling that it must seek full planning permission to stay. Lord Justice Mummery ruled Cocktails Ltd has a “real prospect of success” on its claim.

If successful at a full appeal hearing, the company will be free to carry on running its store.

Cocktails applied to Redcar and Cleveland Council for a “certificate of lawful use” which meant it could use the site without getting full planning permission. It took the view that the site was previously used for the sale of motor vehicles, and so it was entitled to retail use.

While the council issued a separate licence for it to operate as a sex shop, its planners turned down planning consent - a move later backed by a Government inspector.

The inspector agreed with the council that the planning permission, granted in 1997, was for a mixed use - partly sale and display of cars, and partly vehicle repairs. He said the change of use to a “Sexy Superstore” could not be approved without an application.

Cocktails was defeated again when it challenged that decision at the High Court earlier this year. Now Lord Justice Mummery has given the company the go-ahead to take the matter to London’s Court of Appeal.

While the judge said that some neighbours on the industrial estate might not want a sex shop next door, Cocktails’ lawyer Tim Buley told him that was “irrelevant” for the question of planning law concerned. For deciding that point, he said: There is no difference between a sex shop and a fruit shop.

A second attempt to open a sex shop in a south Norfolk village has been refused by a planning committee.

Christopher Bottrell, who has a sex establishment license for premises on the Cloverfield Industrial Estate in East Harling, wanted to turn part of his current wholesale and mail order business into a shop.

But Breckland Council planning committee members rejected the application for nonsense reasons including the fact that the industrial estate was not suitable for retail use and would set a precedent that could take trade away from the village.

Breckland Council planning officials had said that while the moral and social concerns were acknowledged, the issues were not controlled through the planning system. They recommended the application for approval.

Harling Parish Council has objected to the application, stating they believe it could attract anti-social behaviour and increased traffic. Some residents have also objected, stating it is neither wanted nor needed.

Bottrell had a similar application rejected earlier this year.

The operator of two cinemas showing adult movies, was ordered to close them for non-compliance with planning regulations, when the matter came before Galway District Court on Wednesday.

Businessman John Kellegher, who operates Jade Winters sex shop in Liosban Industrial Estate, was not represented or in court to hear Galway City Council’s case against him.

Solicitor for the local authority, Robert Meehan, said he had been notified that the matter would not be contested.

Enforcement officer, Michéal Duffy, gave evidence that when the building was first inspected last August half of the premises, which is meant to be used for retail use only, was found to have two cinemas, a 12 and 9 seater, as well as video booths and private rooms. There was also unauthorised illuminated signage to the front.

Life is about to get a little tamer for the Rampant Rabbit. The best-known sex toy could find itself relegated to a quieter corner of Ann Summers shops as the retailer tones down its image in an attempt to move upmarket.

The chain plans to distance itself from its more exotic merchandise and focus on luxury lingerie in an attempt to widen the customer base and bring in more couples.

Jacqueline Gold, the chief executive, said: I don't want sex toys in the front half of stores. We have families walking past. We're not looking to shock or upset people. Ms Gold will unveil the radical shift in the brand's outlook when opening Ann Summers's newly refurbished flagship store on Oxford Street, London, on Friday.

The pleasure goods will be relegated to the lower floor while customers will find only underwear, in a distinctly more sober guise, on the ground floor.

In the remaining stores nationwide, the sex toys and other accessories that have made the Ann Summers name will be moved to the back.

Sex toys will not feature in any window displays. Ms Gold said: The new concept will be much more luxurious and glamorous. Before it felt more clinical, old-fashioned. Now it is softer, with a boudoir feel.

Figures filed at Companies House last year showed that Ann Summers's pre-tax profits in 2006 halved to £1.5million amid greater competition from Boots and Superdrug, which stocked a limited range of sex toys.

Matthew Smith will ask councillors to vary a condition to allow him to brighten up the front of his Hidden Assets sex shop in Southampton.

The city's four sex shops have previously been restricted to screened windows and discreet brown signage.

But Mr Smith wants to change his shop colours to navy blue with silver lettering to distinguish it from A Taste of Amsterdam, the sex shop next door.

He also wants to introduce a "fully enclosed" illuminated display of "tasteful lingerie" in the window: It is only high street style clothing that would be used for this display, not any of the more risqué items which may raise eyebrows or cause any sort of embarrassment, he said.

But nutters say the display will encourage teenagers to gather who could intimidate residents using the nearby shops and walking by a night. One said it was contrary to the prevention of crime and would compromise public safety. Another was worried the lingerie would introduce unwitting customers to "extreme products and R18 videos".

The issue will be decided when six councillors hear annual licence renewal applications for all four of Southampton's sex shops on Wednesday.

They include Smith's other shop, Hidden Desires, in St Mary's Street, an application by Darker Enterprises to renew its licence for the Private Shop in Above Bar Street, and one by Martin Castle for A Taste of Amsterdam in Millbrook Road West.

Objections were also made to the council over the latter two.

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 Ł1,000 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 Ł1,000 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 Ł1,000 - 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.