Bath & North East Somerset Council is consulting on whether to adopt new powers to give local people greater say over the number and location of lap dancing clubs in their area.
The Council is currently able to regulate ‘sex establishments’ such as sex shops and sex cinemas under Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
The Policing and Crime Act 2009 amended Schedule 3 to include a new category of sex establishment called ‘sexual entertainment venues’. This gives councils greater control over premises that provide adult entertainment such as lap dancing, table dancing and strip shows. The new powers are not automatic; the Council must make a resolution to adopt them.
Currently, sexual entertainment venues only require a Premises Licence or Club Premises Certificate – the same types of licence that are held by all pubs, nightclubs and members’ clubs. The grounds on which these licences can be refused are limited and the Council can only take into account representations from people living or working in the vicinity of the premises.
Under the new provisions, such premises would have to obtain a Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence. The grounds on which a Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence can be refused are much wider and the Council can take into account representations from anyone, not just residents and businesses in the vicinity of the premises.
If the new provisions are adopted, the Council will publish a policy setting out how it will exercise its powers. A draft policy has been prepared in order to facilitate discussion:
Draft Sexual Entertainment Venues Policy 2011 (pdf 76kb)
We are therefore seeking your views on:
If you wish to comment on these proposals, please email your views to licensing@bathnes.gov.uk or write to us at the address below.
If you are commenting on the draft policy, please state which paragraph you are referring to.
The deadline for responses is 31 October 2011.