Councillor Dettbarn’s mix message over Sexual Entertaiment Venues

Without wishing to be in any way sexist – a lot of people are getting their knickers in a twist about Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licensing in South Ayrshire.

For the avoidance of doubt – an SEV is . . . er . . a strip club!

Councillor Julie Dettbarn is sending out a very mixed message on this one.

“We are not opening sexual entertainment venues for the edification of the people of South Ayrshire,”she is quoted as saying.

But in the next paragraph comments, “We are seeking to ensure that if such

premises are established here, they are properly run, safe and protect the predominantly female workforce.”

So – is she saying“No strip clubs in South Ayrshire – but if there are, they’ll be well managed”?

I much prefer a simpler -“No strip clubs in South Ayrshire – ever. The End”.

The whole sex industry – from lap dancing and stripping to massage venues and saunas - is debasing, degrading and corrupting.

SAC should be sending out an unambiguous message to the owners of similar seedy venues in our bigger cities.

“Not here, pal – don’t even waste the postage on an application form!”

But where I WOULD like to see a meaningful conversation - and informed debate - is on the subject of a gaming licence for a casino in South Ayrshire.

The UK has 1974 licensed casinos, 10 per cent of them in London, 15 of them in Scotland . . . but none outside the major cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Why?

Well . . . that’s what we need to debate.

Gambling is hardly alien to South Ayrshire. Ayr has more bookmakers than it has supermarkets. And the way the High Street is heading, it will soon have more bookmakers than shops!

Ayr is also home to The Scottish Grand National and The Ayr Gold Cup – the two biggest single gambling sprees on Scotland’s calendar.

Would a casino - with nightclub style food and entertainment - bring more visitors to Ayr? Would it bring jobs?

Would a casino simply add to the misery and harm we already associate with gambling? Would it encourage more people to gamble?

Would a licence make a significant financial contribution to South Ayrshire?

And would a casino promote fairer, better supervised gambling than the twilight world of on-line gambling? I’m on the fence on this one . . . so far. But I’d like to hear the pros and cons of the debate at an informed level.

Perhaps our new council of May 5 will take this one for a spin . . .