MPs back call for greater control of lap-dancing clubs

Campaigners say an increasing number of MPs are joining their fight to give local authorities greater power over lap-dancing clubs.

The past four years have seen a rapid rise in the number of pole-dancing establishments, with clubs even opening in traditionally genteel towns such as Leamington Spa.

A report published this week by the campaign group Object, with the backing of MPs and peers, revealed the number of clubs has rocketed since the 2003 Licensing Act came into effect, leading to a loophole which allows them to be licensed in the same way as cafes and pubs, rather than as sex establishments. The effect is to leave local authorities with little control over where they open.

Sandrine Leveque, a spokeswoman for the group, said efforts were under way to build support for a 10-Minute Rule Bill to be introduced by the Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods at the end of May. She said the campaign had the backing of about 35 MPs, a third of the number they are hoping to attract.

"We have received some really good feedback from local authorities since we drew attention to the loophole," she said. "This is a cross-party issue and one which affects men and women of all walks of life. We are hoping to gain support from at least 100 MPs."

Campaigners say women living and working near clubs face increased levels of sexual harassment and that the law fails to reflect the social impact of lap-dancing clubs.

An early day motion by Lynda Waltho, MP for Stourbridge, which supports empowering councils to license venues as sex encounter establishments, has gathered 26 signatures from predominantly Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs over the past four days.

Since the first mainstream club, For Your Eyes Only, opened 13 years ago, the number of clubs countrywide has risen to 300, more than doubling in the past four years. Five local authorities which have attempted to block new establishments have been defeated on appeal.

The campaigners want to categorise the clubs as sex encounter establishments, giving local authorities the same power over them as they do with sex shops and cinemas.

They are calling for a change in the law to give councils the right to reject applications for pole-dancing venues and adequately regulate existing clubs.

Campaigners set up a pole this week at a demonstrationoutside Parliament to launch "Stripping the Illusion: the Re-Licence Lap Dancing Campaign". Ms Leveque said: "Our campaign strips the illusion that you can license cappuccinos in the same way as you licence lap-dancing. The law currently makes it easy for lap-dancing clubs to open, and difficult for local authorities to regulate them or listen to the views of people affected by them. The industry has used this to its advantage and very quickly expanded.

"Recategorisation of lap-dancing clubs as sex encounter establishments will take power out of the hands of clubs operators and put it back in the hands of local authorities and local people. It's time to start licensing lap-dancing clubs for what they really are: part of the sex industry."

The Lap Dancing Association (LDA) retorted this week that, while it was concerned about the practices of irresponsible operations and potential links with prostitution, classifying clubs as sex encounter establishments would only drive such operators underground.

It urged the campaign group to work with it to improve standards, claiming that much of the literature on the subject was inaccurate and sensationalist.

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