New brothel for main street
Adult entertainment in New Plymouth may soon expand with plans afoot for a new brothel on the city’s main street.
The proposed parlour will run in conjunction with a strip club under the name, Xcite, in Devon St East.
The premises formerly housed watering holes Scruples Bar, Broadway and Rhythm and more recently wafer specialist Bubble Waffle but will soon become home to exotic dancers.
Denys Taylor, the man behind the venture, purchased business The Crave Club last month.
He’s currently working to reopen the strip club, which will begin operating from the new location’s basement in the coming weeks.
Once up and running, he intends on turning the upper floors into a members area and a brothel.
If his plans progress, it would bump the central city’s number of operating parlours from one to two.
The other is Brougham St’s Hearts and Armour.
The 49-year-old, who also runs a security company, said his business plans arose from simply seeing a gap in the market and jumping on it.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to do something like that,’’ said Taylor, of New Plymouth.
‘‘I saw it as a good business opportunity.’’
Katrina Brunton, of New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), confirmed an ‘‘on-licence tavern adult entertainment’’ application was currently being processed for the premises.
She said the licence was in relation to a brothel.
In the licence application, Taylor has stated nightclub, strip club and bar as the premises’ principal business and has declared ‘‘adult entertainment’’ as a further provided service.
He has applied to trade alcohol every day of the week until 3am.
Former owner of The Crave Club, Laureen O’Brien, confirmed the business sale and welcomed Taylor’s plans.
She bought the club in 2010 when it was being run from The Mayfair premises.
A few years later she reopened in the basement of the historic The Mill building where it operated until its final party in
October this year.
O’Brien said there was still a market for adult entertainment in New Plymouth and while enjoying her experience in the industry, it was time for her to move on.
Dame Catherine Healy, of New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective, said it was hard to say whether New Plymouth’s population was large enough to support two brothels but pointed out many clients would not be locals and were rather ‘‘just passing through’’.
‘‘It is true that it is a minority of people who pay for sex,’’ she said.
Former sex worker and activist, Healy co-founded the collective in 1986 and led the campaign to decriminalise prostitution.
For her advocacy work, she received a damehood this year.
Healy saw Taylor’s proposed business plans as a positive for the sex industry and its workers.
‘‘It’s important to acknowledge sex workers and brothels are a part of the community.’’
She said brothels were an ‘‘important option’’ for sex workers when considering employment opportunities.