Lap Dancing in Blackpool

Blow up dolls are to be banned in Blackpool.

Stall holders are now being warned the council and police will use their powers to seize sex-related items considered offensive.

The move follows the launch of the council's new code of conduct this year which urges stag and hen parties to have more respect for other visitors and residents.

Council leader Coun Peter Callow has pledged to "clean up" the town's often tacky image.

He said: We've all seen blow up dolls and other vulgar items for sale on the Prom. Although it may appear as a bit of harmless fun, for many it can be deemed offensive.

We are warning traders now, before they order their stock for next season, that we have the powers to remove any inappropriate items and we will definitely be using this legislation .

I have made my intentions clear on cleaning up our town and this is just one of a number of enforcement actions we will take to ensure that everyone who comes to Blackpool enjoys themselves without the behaviour of the small minority ruining it for them.

Sex related articles such as lewd inflatable novelty goods are not acceptable and are not something children should be exposed to.

A blackpool lap-dancing club could be shut down amid exaggerated allegations of live sex shows being performed.

Wildcats, in Clifton Street, is set to be questioned by the council on February 4 after being accused of breaching its licence by allowing contact between customers and dancers.

CCTV images from the club, formerly known as Too Hot To Handle, show two female dancers performing a sexy show watched by two men.

Wildcats is alleged to have broken the terms of its licence by offering lap-dancing without CCTV cameras covering the main performance areas. Entertainment is said to have taken place in private booths, where physical contact was observed between performers and customers.

The club is also alleged to have breached its licence by allowing an offensive billboard sign, advertising the premises, to be paraded through the town centre.

Among the penalties the club could face is the possibility of having its licence revoked or suspended.

Blackpool Council's licensing committee voted in favour of repressive new restrictions on the number of adult entertainment venues allowed to open in the town centre and the Promenade.

It means in future, new lap-dancing clubs will be banned unless they can prove they will not harm the family-orientated tourist trade.

Council leader Coun Peter Callow said he was determined to sweep away sleaze and restore Blackpool's family image [as a continuous strip of fish and chip shops!].

This new policy on new lap dancing and striptease clubs has been passed by Blackpool Council with all party support. The policy, which was introduced by nutter council leader Peter Callow and seems to dubiously put morality above the law of the land.

Blackpool's Young People's Council were angry that an adult entertainment venue was set to launch in the basement of the Clifton Hotel, which is currently being revamped.

But now the owners of the historic building, which is being transformed into bars and a nightclub, have decided to ditch the plan for a lap-dancing attraction.

Coun Maxine Callow, cabinet member for regeneration and tourism on Blackpool Council, said: I'm delighted with this outcome because this is the message we're wanting to send out that Blackpool is changing. We're changing our profile and want to change the profile of our visitors.

Gary Hunt, chief operating officer at the Barnsley-based Brook Group, which owns
the Clifton, said the company wanted to work with Blackpool to boost its image.

He said: As part of the ongoing discussions with the senior council officials, we have considered our proposals to open a lap dancing bar within a basement area to the rear of the Clifton Hotel.

Although planning and licensing has been approved, the council have highlighted that their vision for Blackpool was to try to improve its image and in line with this they didn't believe that the lap-dancing proposal was ideal for such a grand scheme.

We've therefore considered their views and eventually taken the decision to surrender the lap-dancing consent to try to assist with the council's vision. The regeneration of Blackpool as a whole is a very important factor for us and our aim is to try to assist as much as possible.

A Blackpool lap-dancing club has been fined £14,000 after admitting breaching its licence by allowing supposedly indecent acts between performers.

One dancer who performed at Wildcats on Clifton Street told a police officer that there were "no limits" to what went on.

Blackpool Magistrates Court was told that when police visited the club they saw extensive physical touching between two female dancers, one of whom they later talked to.

Vicki Cartmell, prosecuting on behalf of Blackpool Council, said the dancer told an officer: No, there are no limits about what we can do, we can do what we want.

The club's owner Provocative Leisure of King Street, Leeds, admitted the offence. It was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £415 costs.

Solicitor Tracy Langfield said: The club faces the suspension of its licence for four weeks and that could lose £40,000 in revenue and affect the jobs of 40 dancers and 13 door and bar staff. This club has a new manager and the police and council say there are no problems now.

A council licensing panel suspended the venue's licence for four weeks last month but it has appealed meaning it can remain open until the appeal is decided.

Police have objected to a bid to re-open a Blackpool lap dancing club. Wildcats was closed last year after performers were judged to have breached nutter inspired decency rules.

However, the club on Clifton Street re-opened temporarily in the run-up to Christmas.

The club is re-opening under temporary premises licences. Blackpool Police have said they would oppose the application.

Applications for a temporary events notice have been made in the club's name. Following the police objection, the application will go before a town hall licensing panel in the next week or two.

Two applications have been made for the Wildcats venue for the end of January, and the end of February. Temporary events notices cover a 96-hour period and people can apply for 15 per year.

A lapdancing club which employed a 16-year-old erotic dancer has been shut down after losing an appeal against closure. Claudia's on Central Drive hit the headlines in 2007 after breaking strict over 18s only rules.

CCTV evidence showed the girl – who worked at the club for one night – turned up for work in a basque, boots and g-string, danced until 4am and was served four pints of lager.

Manager Claudia Spotswood vowed to clean up their act and the venue was allowed to remain open. But in June it was revealed the club had again failed to keep records of the ages of its dancers and council bosses revoked its licence.

Inspectors also said they witnessed physical contact between dancers and clients during lewd dance sessions and alleged a doorman had been illegally employed.

The club remained open while their appeal went ahead, but magistrates have now ordered it to close.

Coun Peter Collins, who chaired a licence review panel, said the club had blatantly disregarded the rules and the licence was revoked.

A Blackpool  lap-dancing club has lost its licence after being linked to a drug offence. It was claimed Fallen Angels was being run by Nabil Awadi even though he was not the official licence holder.

Awadi was not considered a fit person to operate the club because of his past record which includes a conviction in May this year for possessing cocaine.

A hearing at Blackpool Town Hall also heard Awadi had been convicted of a licensing breach in 2006, and had come to the attention of the police.

A council licensing panel revoked the licence despite hearing the lease was in the process of being sold by Awadi to the venue's licence holder Andrea Law and her partner Stuart Hickman. T

They have 21 days in which to lodge an appeal.

There were also safety fears after licensing officers discovered customers using a roof-top terrace surrounded by a weak balustrade during a visit in June this year.

Other issues include claims dancers had been told to perform naked which is against Blackpool's licencing prudery.

Blackpool council's licensing committee look set to rule up to 4 lap-dancing clubs will be allowed to operate in Blackpool in future.

When the policy was first put together 6 months ago, the then ruling Conservatives suggested the number of lap-dancing and striptease clubs be limited to 2.

But under the new Labour administration, it is being recommended up to 4 are allowed. However each application will be considered on its own merit, meaning other licences could still be allowed.

Councillor Norman Hardy, chairman of Blackpool Council's public protection sub-committee, said:

I feel if you are going to have a certain number, then you have to have a reasonable number.

You aren't going to be able to ban them, they will just go underground.

I believe it's better to have these clubs properly licensed and controlled rather than going underground and operating under their own rules.

There are currently 5 clubs with lap dancing operating in Blackpool

Blackpool's 'public protection' sub-committee will consider the new policy on Thursday October 20.

Update: Limited Fun in Blackpool

28th October 2011. See  article from  blackpoolgazette.co.uk

Proposals to allow up to four lap-dancing clubs to operate in Blackpool have been agreed, but venues will have to comply with miserable rules. Nudity will continue to be banned while customers must sit down throughout performances and will be forbidden from touching dancers. Clubs will have to adhere to a total of 47 licensing conditions which also include strict controls on publicising premises.

Blackpool Council's Maoist sounding 'public protection' sub-committee agreed a new policy covering sex entertainment venues which will come into force from May next year.

Previously a limit of 2 clubs was proposed but the new Labour administration recommended up to four are allowed. However each application will be considered on its own merit, meaning other licences could still be allowed. There are currently seven lap-dancing clubs operating in Blackpool.

Councillor Paul Galley claimed the move would be damaging to Blackpool's reputation as a family resort: I think this would send out the wrong message - that Blackpool is becoming sleazy.

But Councillor Chris Maughan said as long as venues were discreet and complied with the rules, he believed they should be allowed: In Blackpool these venues are going to be highly regulated. If we do the right thing as a council and have the legislation in place, I don't think it will be detrimental to Blackpool at all.

Mark Marshall, licensing and health and safety manager at Blackpool Council, said existing lap-dancing clubs were generally well run in the town: They suffer a lot less anti-social behaviour and a lot less crime. There is a lot more sit down drinking and the violence, crime and other issues associated with town centre premises don't appear in these premises.

Sounds like the best thing about Blackpool will continue to be its fish and chips.

A businessman has been refused permission to transform a former restaurant into a lap-dancing club. John Sayers wanted to open The Doll House in the former Septembers restaurant.

But his plans have been smothered at the first hurdle by Blackpool Council's nutter protection committee who refused to grant him a licence.

There are already four lapdancing bars in Blackpool, the arbitrary maximum that council moralists allow. Council solicitor Sharon Davies said the committee had heard nothing that would persuade them there is a need to divert from that policy .

Mark Marshall, the council's licensing manager, said:

There are national studies to demonstrate there's a downturn right across the country in relation to business in lapdancing clubs. I have spoken to all the existing operators (in Blackpool) who all report a huge reduction locally.

To review a policy in terms of numbers there would have to be a big demand in that area which demonstrates the need for more supply, and that certainly is not the case at the moment.

And licensing Sgt Caroline Hannon added:

I don't believe at this time the policy needs to be reviewed and if it was it would open the floodgates for other applications coming through.

Sayers now has the right to ask for a judicial review at court.