Shades sex club gets green light

Shades Gentlemen’s club has been granted a sex establishment licence after two previous failed bids.

Earlier this month, the Warwick District Council regulatory committee voted five to four in favour of the club, which will be licensed to run as a lap-dancing and pole-dancing venue from 11pm to 3am from Tuesday to Thursday and until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The decision was made despite a barrage of complaints made by residents, religious leaders and the _No to Strip Clubs in Warwick District_ campaign, which collected more than 600 signatures against the application.

The objections were dominated by fears that the club would have a detrimental effect to the regeneration of the Old Town in light of the recent success of the Portas Pilots bid, close proximity to a Hindu temple, and that the club would cause safety issues in the predominantly student area.

Spokesman for the _Say No to Strip Clubs_ campaign, Rev Christopher Wilson, said: “When talking about perceptions and fears, the phrase which comes to mind is ‘playing with fire’.

“There is a risk and even if that risk is managed inside the premises, it might not be managed outside of it.

“We need to take perceptions and fears very seriously because they are all about the quality of people’s lives and quality of life is the good for which all of us should be striving.”

Rebutting these objections, the legal representative for the applicants and owners of the club argued that: “There is no evidence this will affect local businesses. There is no evidence of harassment or any indecent proposals.

“What I say is that we have heard absolutely no evidence that this club will cause a problem or has caused a problem.”

Proposing the application, Councillor Illingworth supported this reasoning. He said there was no solid evidence that club would affect the area in the way objectors had suggested and said their concerns were based on “conjecture”.

He added: “We’ve had no evidence it will have an adverse effect on regeneration, we’ve had no evidence of complaints over the period of time they’ve been operating and we’ve had no evidence from any of the authorities that this is an unsuitable organisation.”

This was the third time that Shades had applied for a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence after having been refused twice before, causing many objectors to question the consistency and rationale of the decision-making process as well as the decision itself.

One of the major issues surrounding this decision is the fact that Amara VIP club was also granted a SEV licence earlier this year. This has sparked concerns over Leamington’s Old Town becoming a ‘red-light district’, which is a prospect that could negate any regeneration in the area.

Third-year Law student Anjeli Shah said, “I think this is terrible news. Leamington Spa is a historical residential town and having two sex clubs there depletes this quality.

“Shades being granted a SEV licence will affect the social and economic prospects of the town, especially in terms of residents returning home late at night.”

However these concerns are not held by all. German and Business Studies student Sam Dunstan commented, “Although I would never visit such a place, I think that so long as the licence regulations and safety of the residents and employees of the club are catered for, there should be no reason why Shades should not be allowed to operate.”

Warwick Students’ Union are currently discussing and considering their stance on the matter.