Strip club applies to renew licence
TOWN CENTRE: A lap dancing club in Maidenhead had an application to renew its sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licence considered by councillors yesterday (Wednesday).
Honeypot, in Queen Street, is seeking to obtain another SEV licence from the Royal Borough.
The venue has managed to have this renewed each year since 2011 but due to complaints filed by nearby residents, the application was called in to the council’s licensing panel subcommittee this week.
Bijou Dunn, who represented residents living opposite Honeypot, claimed that the SEV licence should not be renewed due to fears over the club’s close proximity to a church, residential areas and its impact on upcoming regeneration projects.
“There is a potential that the women are being undermined in that venue, which is something I think the board should consider,” she said.
“This is the first year objections have been made, and there might be a real reason for that.”
Ms Dunn added: “Although I understand that the new developments won’t be finished within this year, and that the licence takes place yearly, that is not to say that certain elements of the new developments will be ongoing.”
John Sennett, one of the Honeypot applicants, called the objections ‘baffling’.
“This is the first objection we have had when we have been closed for a year. Nothing has changed in that year. The objection is slightly baffling to me,” he said.
He added that there are no ‘happy hour’ offers or parties at Honeypot, which has an over 21 age barrier and caters for an older clientele compared with other night time venues.
“If it was a nightclub, it would be a lot noisier,” he said. “Our customer base is a lot older – we deal with the more sort of discerning customer.”
Sarah Taylor, representing Honeypot, told councillors that the venue has got a good relationship with the local police, adding that there have been ‘no issues in terms of residents’.
Ms Taylor said that the venue was discrete, with two door men preventing people underage from entering.
“We have got a situation where towns and cities have got more and more residents present, but businesses have got to try and co-exist within this,” she said.
Ms Taylor added on nearby developments: “This is a development that is likely to take many years, and we have got to look at the facts of the locality now.”
Committee chairman Councillor David Cannon (Con, Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury) announced that the panel would retire with the council’s legal representative and make a decision within five working days.