Date set for vote on proposed Bristol strip clubs ban

A council vote on whether to ban strip clubs in Bristol will take place in six weeks' time.

The fate of the city's sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) will be decided on 28 July, licensing committee chairman Marley Bennett said.

Members have been asked to attend a session lasting up to five hours with a barrister who will brief them on the law ahead of the vote.

It is nearly 15 months since a draft policy was published proposing a ban.

SEVs are legal in the UK but it is up to individual councils to grant licences.

There are two SEVs in the city centre - Urban Tiger and Central Chambers.

The draft policy proposed a ban amid concerns of links between strip clubs and sexual violence, although a report to the licensing committee in March last year also said there was insufficient local evidence to link the city's SEVs with crime or sexual assaults.

A 12-week public consultation was held between September and December last year, but the results still have not been published, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 

Conservative licensing committee member Chris Windows raised the issue at a full council meeting in May, urging the local authority to set a date to make a decision.

A panel of councillors renewed Bristol's two SEVs last September despite the threat of closure hanging over them.

Women's campaigners objected but the police did not and licensing sub-committee members heard the establishments had complied with all licensing conditions.

Under the council's current policy, from 2011, a third SEV is also permitted in Old Market, although the area does not currently have one.

A largely unchanged policy faced months of delays before going out to consultation in 2019, with about two-thirds of respondents agreeing the clubs should be allowed to stay open.

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