Sex establishments and sex entertainment venues are licensed by the Council.
Sex establishments are defined in schedule three to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Under this Act you may need a licence from us to run a sex establishment, a sex shop or sex cinema.
A sex establishment means either a
- sex shop - any premises used for business which consists to a significant degree of selling sex articles, or a
- sex cinema - any premises used to a significant degree to show films which are concerned primarily with, or relate to, or are intended to stimulate sexual activity
- sexual entertainment venue - a premises where a live display/performance of nudity takes place in front of a live audience for the financial gain of the organiser or the performer
An application will involve
- a notice advertising the application in the local press
- a notice displayed outside the premises for a specific time period to give the public the opportunity to object to the application
- copying the application to the Police
Sexual Entertainment Venues
A sexual entertainment venue is a category of sex establishments that provide relevant entertainment before a live audience for the financial gain of the organiser or the entertainer. Applicants should be minded to have regard of the Home Office Guidance
The forms of entertainment commonly understood to be connected with Sexual Entertainment Venues are (though this is not a comprehensive list)
- lap dancing
- pole dancing
- table dancing
- strip shows
- peep shows
- live sex shows
The Act and guidance state that applications have to be treated individually and therefore all applications will and must be heard by full Licensing Committee.
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