 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.
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