UK Sex Shop News

Thurrock Council has taken a Little Thurrock sex shop owner to court over transgressions of incredibly oppressive licensing conditions

Shop owner Bradley Rose has pled not guilty at Basildon Magistrates Court to the following 'offences'.

1. On or about 2nd May 2014, being the licence holder of a sex establishment licence issued under Schedule 3 of The Local Government (Miscellanous Provisions) Act 1982 dated 5th November 2013, for the premises of The Adult Store, 23 Broadway, Grays RM17 6EW, you did without reasonable excuse knowingly contravene or knowingly permit the contravention of a condition of that said licence, in that you failed to nominate, in writing and provide details and photographs of persons responsible for the purpose of managing the said premises, in cases of your prolonged absence from the premises.
    
2. On or about 2nd May 2014, being the licence holder of a sex establishment licence issued under Schedule 3 of The Local Government (Miscellanous Provisions) Act 1982 dated 5th November 2013, for the premises of The Adult Store, 23 Broadway, Grays RM17 6EW, you did without reasonable excuse knowingly contravene or knowingly permit the contravention of a condition of that said licence, in that you failed to maintain a permanent register recording names, addresses, dates of birth and positions held of all staff at the premises, nor did you have a daily register recording on each day the names of all staff employed and the time during which they were present on the premises.
    
3. On or about 2nd May 2014, being the licence holder of a sex establishment licence issued under Schedule 3 of The Local Government (Miscellanous Provisions) Act 1982 dated 5th November 2013, for the premises of The Adult Store, 23 Broadway, Grays RM17 6EW, you did without reasonable excuse knowingly contravene or knowingly permit the contravention of a condition of that said licence, in that you allowed advertisements other that advertisements relating to the premises of the Adult Store, to be displayed at the premises, namely a business card advertising the business of BC Books in Dagenham.
    
4. On or about 2nd May 2014, being the licence holder of a sex establishment licence issued under Schedule 3 of The Local Government (Miscellanous Provisions) Act 1982 dated 5th November 2013, for the premises of The Adult Store, 23 Broadway, Grays RM17 6EW, you did without reasonable excuse knowingly contravene or knowingly permit the contravention of a condition of that said licence, in that you allowed 330 DVD's to be exhibited on the premises, which DVD's had not been passed for classification by the British Board of Film Classification.

The case has been adjourned until October 2nd.

One of Ireland's top sex shop owners has called for the ban on Playgirl magazine to be lifted.

Twenty years after Playboy first appeared on the top shelves of Ireland, sale of the feminist answer to the title is still prohibited.

SexSiopa.ie founder Shawna Scott this week urged censors to Play fair over soft porn in 2015. She said:

I'm shocked that Playgirl is still banned in Ireland. But I think it's a perfect example of the double standard in our culture that celebrates straight men's sexuality, whilst viewing that of women and gay men as shameful.

Perhaps now on the 20th anniversary of the unbanning of Playboy in Ireland, it's time to make Playgirl legal too.

A spokescensor for the Censorship of Publications Board - a five-person State body - told Review:

Playgirl was first prohibited in 1974. [After] this prohibition order expired, a second prohibition order, which made it permanent, was granted. Prohibition orders can be revoked on appeal, as can second or subsequent orders which, when made, are permanent unless revoked on appeal.

Razzle, Mayfair and Men Only are among the titles back on Irish shelves after publishers mounted one such appeal back in 2011. But there are 266 magazines that are still banned.

The Irish Government has said it has still not decided whether to regulate sex shops and lap dancing clubs.

Minister of State Paudie Coffey recently said it was unclear whether adult shops needed to be treated any differently than other shops under planning laws.

Previous efforts to regulate adult entertainment venues failed following disagreements between government departments, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

An interdepartmental group called the Adult Entertainment Task Force completed its last draft in 2009 recommending that a licensing system for sex establishments under an independent regulator should be included in casino regulations being planned at the time for the gambling sector. But the Department of Justice, which was preparing the gambling regulations, strongly disagreed stating that it would be quite frankly, not something that could be contemplated .

There was meant to be four meetings of the task force but a final meeting did not take place following submissions in 2008 and no final report was ever agreed.

In a statement the Department of the Environment said a report was never finalised because of the prioritisation of other work in the planning area.

The draft reports also recommended that someone holding an adult entertainment licence would have to be tax compliant and proposed the introduction of a new restricted film classification.

An anti-sex shop councillor has tabled a motion to impose a blanket ban on sex shops by refusing to allow them within 3km of a a primary school.

Councillor Ciaran O'Moore who proposed the ban spouted:

Let me make this clear, I'm not against sex shops ...HOWEVER... I do have a problem with some of the people that hang around them.

I don't think these shops should be located anywhere near where children are.

They should be pushed out to industrial estates, away from the city centre.

Robert Doyle, who already owns the Play Blue store in Kilkenny, said a ruling such as this would ruin business.

It's absolutely incredible. There'd be nowhere in Dublin, there'd be nowhere in Meath almost, unless you went somewhere very, very rural. Not even a village, he said.

That's obviously a motion to try and ban sex shops and it's just grandstanding, really.

I don't honestly believe that any right-minded person thinks something like this would make any sense at all.

I assume logic will hold through in the end, so I'm not particularly threatened about it, to be honest.

Erotic Trade Only is a trade organisation publishing a trade newspaper for UK sex shops and associated products.

The group organises an annual trade exhibition and awards show at the NEC Birmingham. The awards are voted on by readers and this year's winners are:

ETO Award winners 2015

Products

• Best New Female Product: Womanizer [Orion]
• Best New Male Product: Revo Stealth [Nexus]
• Best New Couples Product: We-Vibe 4 Plus
• Best New Product Range: Entice Accessories [California Exotic Novelties]
• Best Consumable: ID Glide

Brands

• Best Fetish Products Brand: Fetish Fantasy Series [Pipedream]
• Best Pleasure Products Brand: Rocks-Off
• Best Luxury Brand: Lelo
• Most Innovative Brand: Pipedream
• Best Sexual Wellbeing Brand: System Jo
• Best Consumable Brand: ID Lubricants
• Best Lingerie Brand: Leg Avenue

Distribution

• Best Fetish Products Distributor: E-Stim Systems
• Best Specialist Products Distributor: Mister B
• Best Pleasure Products Distributor: ABS Holdings (Simply Pleasure)
• Best International Distributor: Scala Playhouse
• Best Lingerie Distributor: Kevco Wholesale

Retail

• Best Retail Chain: Simply Pleasure
• Best Individual Store: Harmony Oxford Street
• Most Innovative Retailer: Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium
• Best Online Retailer: Bondara

People

• Best Erotic Author: Kay Jaybee
• Best Erotic Journalist: Cara Sutra
• Best Store Manager: Renee Denyer [Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium]
• Best Sales Team: Creative Conceptions