Kirklees Council to adopt stricter laws on sex clubs

Sep 17 2010 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

LAP dancing bars, strip joints and swingers’ clubs in Huddersfield could face a rude awakening.

Kirklees Council’s licensing and safety committee has decided to adopt legislation which means it will be harder for bosses of ‘sexual entertainment venues’ to open up in future.

Existing clubs will also have to re-apply for licences under the Policing and Crime Act 2009.

Committee member Clr Jim Dodds said: “We shouldn’t be looked upon as prudes or stopping people’s fun for doing this.

“But we need to keep controls on these venues.

“These kind of places are the thin end of the wedge. Lap dancing clubs can end up with live sex shows and you never know where it might end up.”

At the moment, sex shops and sex cinemas can be tightly regulated.

But people applying for licences for other venues that provide adult entertainment are treated no differently to anyone wanting to run a pub or club.

The 2009 act has introduced a new category of sex establishment called sexual entertainment venues.