Lone objector fails to halt strip club licence

ASTRIP club in Weymouth is to continue operating – after fighting off an objection from a Poole campaigner.

Wiggle, in New Street, was first registered in 2011 and has had its licence renewed every year since.

No objections to the annual renewal came from Dorset Police, the town council, fire authority or any Dorset Council department.

But lone objector Susan Stockwell raised a series of legal and technical questions which, she claimed, meant the licence should not be renewed.

Her concerns included proximity to the seafront, the fact that women might have to walk past the premises making them feel uncomfortable and claims made, but unsubstantiated, about the running of other clubs in the group. She also complained about an image outside the club which, she said, showed nudity although other witnesses said they had not seen it, including a licensing officer who had recently visited.

Among her other objections was that there were no male performers which, she argued, should be the case if the business was to comply with equalities legislation.

In November last year she objected at a Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council licensing hearing to the renewal for the For Your Eyes Only club in Bournemouth. She has previously said that she campaigns to ensure that women can feel safe.

Directors from Wellhot Ltd, which runs the business, told the Dorset Council licensing panel that they could prove the establishment had been run within the rules since it came under its ownership in 2017 and that a licence renewal had never been refused.

General manager Taran Ojla said the company employs 200 performers and 50 other staff across their five sites, which include Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton.

He told the council panel that the complaint about nudity being on display might have referred to a ‘tasteful’ and symbolic silhouette depicting grace and skill, on an outside wall which was the only clue that the business existed.

Director Jaspal Ojla said all the clubs were well regulated, had security staff in place and used extensive CCTV coverage to ensure customers complied with all the rules, including not touching and not approaching any of the performers.

In a statement to the panel Ms Stockwell had claimed: “People who pay good money to spend time in a small booth with a naked woman dancing for them are arguably not the type of people that are wanted in a resort promoting a family-orientated holiday industry based around the beach.”

She also argued that licensing the club would do nothing to “promote good relations between the sexes given the potential damage to relationships which may be done by attending as a customer or performer”.

People who pay good money to spend time in a small booth with a naked woman dancing for them are arguably not the type of people that are wanted in a resort promoting a family-orientated holiday industry based around the beach SUSAN STOCKWELL