Council hears opposition to strip club

A New Plymouth tattooist facing the possibility of a strip club opening next door has taken his fears to the district council.

Gene Martin, co-owner of Brothers Ink, on Devon St, said his business was already suffering from the prospect of the club moving on to the main street, with the chance of a brothel being added. ‘‘It’s already having an impact that tattoo and strip clubs go hand in hand,’’ he told yesterday’s final full council meeting of 2018.

He had worked to create a safe environment for women who wanted to get a tattoo or even work in the industry, he said.

‘‘I’ve been fighting against that stigma for a long time, to bring it up to a reputable organisation.

‘‘We can’t step outside even to get fresh air without being approached by passersby who target us because of the club.’’

He was also hearing ‘‘more and more degrading comments about women’’, which concerned him greatly as a married father of two girls. ‘‘I accept that it’s a profession and it needs to be operating somewhere, but not in the middle of the retail section.’’

Martin’s comments will be noted as the council considers the application.

A second deputation was received from Max Brough, from the Fitzroy Kiosk, a coffee and snack shop near Fitzroy Beach on the Coastal Walkway, asking for more land under their lease agreement so they could legally have their tables outside.

‘‘My daughter wants to run this place all year round and turn it into a place to go.’’

Currently they do set up tables but after a couple of complaints wanted to formalise the process, he said. They were also keen on better beach access, putting in shade sails and tidying up the area ‘‘so it doesn’t look like back country Taranaki’’.

Meanwhile, an erroneous report on a ‘structural collapse’ at New Plymouth’s earthquakeprone Yarrow Stadium was corrected. Councillors were shocked last month after being told of a collapse, but it was later revealed to be an error in a health and safety report.

‘‘The incident was not a physical structural collapse but recorded a tenant entering a restricted area without authorisation,’’ the update stated.