No complaints over city's strip clubs in 10 years

A council has not received any complaints in the past decade over the sexual entertainment venues it licensed in a city, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed.

Norwich City Council said it wanted to have no sexual entertainment venues in the city, and in September it attempted to ban lap dances at one of Norwich's biggest clubs.

Norwich has four strip clubs across Prince of Wales Road and Dove Street and one business owner said the council was being "too uptight".

The authority said that while it was not calling for these venues to close, once they do they would not be replaced.

The council's current licensing rules limit the number of venues to four, it previously broke its own guidance by allowing three venues to operate in Prince of Wales Road.

In a statement Norwich City Council said: "If breaches of these [licensing] conditions are found, then a range of actions can be taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of performers and customers as well as compliance with the business."

In September the owners of Sugar and Spice on Prince of Wales Road, took the council to court to appeal a decision which forbade dancers to sit on or straddle customers.

This was intended to maintain boundaries and avoid the "blurring" of lines due to the extent of the contact between dancers and customers.

However, Norwich Magistrates' Court ruled in favour of the club after performers said they had never felt unsafe at work.

Caroline Ackroyd, a Liberal Democrat councillor on the authority, previously said: "We’re not doing this on moral grounds, but we have to think about the safety and wellbeing of our communities."

Tyrese Malik, the owner of the club Entice, said the council does not have to be "so uptight".

He added: "They're creating a hostile environment.

"Look at the day and age we live in - people can watch what they want and do what they want."

A FOI request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that the council had received no complaints regarding sexual entertainment venues licensed by the council.

However, there was some historical noise complaints between 2010 and 2012.

A public consultation is due to close in November, which would remove the presumption that more premises should be allowed to open when the limit is not reached.

In a statement Norwich City Council, said: "The legislation is there to allow sexual entertainment businesses to operate under licences which come with conditions attached.

"The legislation gives local authorities powers to set these conditions and to look at the location of sexual entertainment venues... It includes the safety of the performers and customers and the impact of the business on the local community."

The public consultation will be open until 3 November and considered by councillors in "due course".

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