Agenda item

This report seeks Members determination of an application to renew a Sex Establishment Licence for a sexual entertainment venue which has been made under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, Schedule 3 Control of Sex Establishments.

Members considered a report which asked them to determine an application for the renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence for a Sexual Entertainment Venue which had been made under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, Schedule 3 Control of Sex Establishments in respect of Mansion (Upstairs), 53-55 Micklegate, York, YO1 6LJ.

In coming to their decision, Members took into consideration all the evidence and submissions that were presented to them including:

1.   The application form.

2.   The Licensing Managers report and her comments made at the meeting, including that the application was for the renewal of a sex establishment licence in line with Section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 which allowed local authorities to regulate lap dancing clubs and similar venues. Members were advised that the establishment had been operating for a number of years without incident.

3.   The observations received in writing and at the meeting from North Yorkshire Police in relation to the renewal. They raised concerns about an alleged breach of licence conditions witnessed during a compliance visit.

4.   The comments made by the applicants solicitor at the meeting. Members were advised that the premises were currently undergoing an overhaul and that conditions on the licence needed to be revised to ensure the applicant could comply with them, given the limitations of the listed building and improvements were being made following the observations outlined by the Police.

In respect of the proposed licence, the Committee had to determine whether to take any of the steps mentioned under Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (as amended) that it considered necessary.

Members were presented with the following options:

Option 1     Renew the Licence.

Option 2     Renew the licence with modified/additional conditions imposed by the Licensing Gambling and Regulatory Committee.

Option 3     Reject the renewal application.

Resolved:           That Members agreed Option 2 to renew the Licence with the following modified/additional conditions:

The deletion of conditions 7.6(a) and 7.7 from the licence, which relate to the provision of doors. The purpose of the conditions is to prevent visibility of the interior of a sex establishment to passers-by. These conditions are standard conditions approved by the Licensing Authority. However, due to the specific circumstances at these premises in that the listed building status does not allow for such alterations, and also the need to comply with fire safety regulations, it is not possible to provide the doors as prescribed by the conditions. As the sexual entertainment takes place on the first floor only, it is considered to be reasonable that these conditions are deleted from the licence.

Condition 8.7 relates to the provision of CCTV within the premises, and in order to ensure that the individual booths where dancing takes place are monitored the condition is to be amended to provide clarity as follows:

CCTV for both monitoring and recording shall be installed, maintained and operated in accordance with data protection guidelines and will cover all areas where dancing takes place, including each dance booth. All cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open to the public and recordings shall be kept for a period of 28 days with times and dates indicated. These recordings shall be kept secure and shall be made available to an authorised officer of the Local Authority or a Police Officer on request. The new CCTV system must be in place by 1^st June 2015.

Condition 8.10 relates to door supervisors. Having regard to the layout of the premises, and the need to ensure that patrons of the night-club do not mix with patrons of the sex establishment, the condition is amended to require at least two registered door supervisors to be present at all times that the sex establishment is in operation and that one must be located on the first floor landing where the performance areas can be monitored:

At least two SIA (Security Industry Authority)  door supervisors shall be present when the sexual entertainment premises are open to the public with one SIA door supervisor being positioned on the first floor landing throughout the performance (therefore being present in the area in which the performance takes place) and one at the main entrance to the premises on the ground floor.

Condition 8.15 to be amended to provide clarity as follows:

Adult entertainment shall not take place before 9pm, except for Race Days as specified elsewhere in the licence.

Reason:              The premise has operated as a lap dancing venue since September 2006 without any incidents reported to the Licensing Authority.