Good luck to Leeds law-abaiding lap dancing clubs

Today see’s the beginning of a three day judicial review into Leeds City Council decision to refuse licences to two of Leeds biggest lap dancing clubs – and I am praying that justice is done and the clubs are granted the licences they deserve.

In December, the licensing committee decided that Leeds should only house four Sexual Entertainment Venues and refused the licence applications of Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard due to their proximity to buildings with ‘sensitive’ uses.

Deep Blue and Wildcats have launched expensive appeals against this decision and rightly so, as they aim to keep hundreds of employees in work and protect the law abiding businesses they have operated for years.

Red Leopard, who are still currently trading as a ‘hostess’ bar did not launch an appeal and hopefully it will not be long before their venue is closed down as it continues to tarnish the reputations of the clubs and industry as a whole that has stuck by the council’s rigid rules.

I believe the decision to refuse licenses was not fair for a number of reasons:

  Deep Blue and Wildcats have removed all signage making them almost invisible to anybody passing the premises during the day. This has been done with the councils aim to become as child friendly as possible in mind. Nobody leaving the Town Hall, Art Gallery or Henry Moore Institute would be any the wiser of the business use of the Wildcats premises.  Neither would any of the millions (not 3.5billion as ridiculously quoted by Alison Lowe!!) of people expected to watch the Tour de France as it departs from the Headrow on July 5^th.

  Deep Blue does not open until 10pm and Wildcats until 11pm, a reasonable time to expect any children and families to have vacated the city centre vicinity.

  - Granting the licences will save around 200 jobs, not just those of the dancers but also those of the cleaners, doormen, bar staff, promotions staff, managers. There is also the knock on effect to nearby bars, printers, local suppliers etc. that will also be directly affected.

 - Granting the licences would reportedly have saved the cities taxpayer up to £200,000 in legal bills alone, the cost of Leeds City Council fighting the licence renewals.

 - Deep Blue has been operating as a gentleman’s club for over ten years while Wildcats has been there for eight years. It seems harsh to suddenly decide these clubs are not wanted in locations they have occupied for years.

 - Both businesses are lawful and West Yorkshire Police made no objections or local residents of the club who would much prefer a reasonably quiet and trouble free lap dancing club rather than a loud, anti-social late night bar or club.

 - Leeds is being restricted to four Sexual Entertainment Venues while London, the second
most visited City in the world has 53, Paris has 50, Rome, home of the Catholic Church has 13 and Birmingham, who’s tourist economy has helped create an extra 2126 has nine.

 -  With the closure of Wildcats and Red Leopard there will be six vacant ground floor units on the Headrow in the small area between Leeds Town Hall and the Henry Moore Institute. Delegates leaving Leeds Town Hall or visitors leaving the art gallery will get a feeling of an unsuccessful deserted City as they face a row of For Sale and To Let signs.
 - The frontages of both clubs are very inoffensive. There is no advertising, no pictures of naked girls, no suggestive wording r slogans, there is not even the name of either club. A survey found then when adults were shown a picture of Wildcats 91% were not offended by the image and 100% had not experienced a problem with the premises. Deep Blue and Wildcats have mad these consessions while high street chains such as Ann Summers brazenly display pictures of an intimate sexual nature.

 - The licence application only received 20 objections, a paltry number compared with the 200 job losses and almost 200 signatures on a petition campaigning to keep the clubs open.

 - Claims that the clubs are detrimental to the lives of women in and around the club have been proved to be unfounded (see my last blog). In fact to the contrary the lives of women working for the clubs see a significant improvement in their lifestyles and women outside the club are in no apparent danger.

- These clubs HELP attract tourists to Leeds in the form of stag parties and groups males from surrounding towns that do not have such clubs. I am yet to hear of a tourist reconsider visiting a City because it has a lap dancing club. These clubs help to make Leeds the diverse cosmopolitan City it is.

- Leeds City Council gave no criterion before deciding to limit the number of SEV’s in Leeds to four. It appears the decision was made to refuse licenses to Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard and THEN derive the policy around that decision.
 
Red Leopard / Directors on the other hand I have little sympathy for. They have not appealed against the decision, have made no concessions to comply with council objectives and are tarnishing the reputation of the industry by continuing to trade in the manner they are.

The venue is blatantly still trading as a strip club, with all signage still visable, openings earlier than all the other clubs and still using promotional vehicles banned under the 2012 licence. The sooner the council closes this club down the better for the law-abiding venues such as Wildcats and Deep Blue.

Wildcats and Deep Blue deserve to be a granted a licence this week to trade as legal, law abiding SEVs which will in no way effect the councils vision for a visitor and child friendly city.

They have gone above and beyond any kind of voluntary compliance that could be expected and have shown their commitment to keeping their staff employed.

Whether Leeds has four, five or ten Sexual Entertainment Venues it will remain a vibrant city, full of culture and diversity that will continue to attract tourists from all walks of life.

I hope the judges of Leeds High Court realise this on Thursday and grant the licenses that Deep Blue and Wildcats deserve that weren’t granted because of a flawed policy, with little public consultation, even less public support and absolutely no criteria for selecting the four SEV’s anyway.

If you would like to see the council stop wasting tax payers money, grant the licenses and leave the owners and employees to go about their lawful business, then please sign the petition below to show your support

www.gopetition.com/petitions/dance.html

GIRLS ARE SAFE IN AND OUT OF LEEDS LAP DANCING CLUBS

One of the key objections in granting a licence to Leeds three largest lap dancing clubs comes from Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SAR&SVL). This is one objection that frustrates me as it is based on completely flawed evidence, has no solid foundation and no relevance to Leeds.

The SAR&SVL claim that “wherever lap dance and strip clubs appear, womens quality of life deteriorates” and, “this actively damages women and girls living and working around lap-dancing clubs as well as the women working within them”. The third claim, “there is an established link between crime and sex establishments” could be the biggest untruth of them all.

The SAR&SVL’s full objection to the licensing of Leeds lap dancing clubs can be seen here:

http://supportafterrapeleeds.org.uk/object-to-the-renewal-of-leeds-lap-dancing-club-licenses/

Before I start with the defense I’d like to put on record that I have a lot of time for the job the SAR&SVL do. I have considerable sympathy for victims of rape and sexual violence and applaud the SAR&SVL for all the support they give.

However, I completely disagree with the claims they make in regard to lap dancing clubs, am disappointed they would use this evidence to try and put 200 people out of work and will now go on to counter their claims.

First of all the claim that the quality of life of the women deteriorates and lap dancing actively damages the lives of women working within them I believe to be absolutely to the contrary.

The majority of dancers I have worked with earn very good money from the job they do, leading to lifestyles they would never be able to lead without the money earned from lap dancing.

I strongly disagree the quality of life of a girl dressed in nice clothes, with designer handbags, a nice apartment, sports car and going on two or three holidays a year has deteriorated.

Many of the girls have used lap dancing to pay their way through University, done so comfortably and have now gone on to work in their chosen profession with no debt like other graduates in a similar position.

There are also lots of single mothers, working to provide a good quality of life for not only themselves but for their children

Evidence to support these claims comes from a Leeds University study by Teela Sanders and Dr Kate Hardy from the School of Sociology and Social Policy. Their 2012 study, commissioned by Leeds City Council themselves: The Regulatory Dance: Sexual Consumption in the Night Time Economy, found that, “Dancers identified a number of advantages and attractions. Key amongst these were flexibility and independence, instant remuneration, earning more than in other roles, keeping fit, and an opportunity to combine fun and work.
Most women interviewed for the study said they felt safe at work and were supported by managers when there was a dispute with a customer.

Despite being commissioned by Leeds City Council in anticipation of the 2012 licence renewal the study did not make it as evidence when the 2013 application came around. I presume this was because the study didn’t meet their premeditated requirements of it casting a bad light on the industry when in fact it achieved the opposite.

The study even noted regulations set by Leeds City Council as ‘good practice’ and the conclusion includes the concern that, “a ban would create a real opportunity to drive the industry underground, with unregulated venues putting on strip nights”

It appears girls are working in a very safe and secure working environment and their quality of life, and that of their closet family members, would only deteriorate if these clubs are closed down.

And this only takes into account the quality of life of the dancers. There are also the managers, bar staff, accounts staff and promotions staff to think about which also includes a high percentage of female staff relying on this income for their well being of themselves and their families.

The claim of an established link between crime and sex establishments is also completely to the contrary.

In my nine years working in and around the lap dancing industry I have witnessed very few incidences of crime or anti-social behavior. The clubs are normally frequented by middle age, professional males who enter the clubs in very small groups, if not alone, and spend more attention on the company they keep rather then the alcohol they consume.

This cannot be said of the nearby bars and nightclubs that encourage excessive drinking and attract large crowds who later spill out onto the streets displaying aggressive, anti-social behavior.

I suggest that women would walk with far more confidence along the Headrow late at night than they would in the areas occupied by the likes of Tiger Tiger and Oceana, yet I hear no objections to these venues from SAR&SVL or Leeds City Council. I would like to hear from a woman that feels unsafe walking past lap dancing clubs as to date I have never spoken to a female that does.

West Yorkshire Police made no objections to licences being granted to Wildcats, Deep Blue or Red Leopard.

My argument is backed up by the 2003 Licensing Act which states:

“there is no evidence to suggest that there are significant problems relating to other forms of disorder, anti-social behavior or public nuisance surrounding the operation of lap dancing clubs. Indeed, all evidence points to the contrary. For example, analysis of Birmingham police call out statistics reveal 14 incidents per lap dancing club as compared to 77 per conventional night club”

The Act, by Media and Sport house Commons Culture (p119) also states, “there is no evidence to suggest that lap dancing clubs create no go areas for women, or increase sex crimes” and also considers the conception, ‘lap dancing clubs create no go areas for women and increase crime’ to be a MYTH.

Unfortunately objectors such as Leeds City Council and SAR&SVL rely on the evidence of a 2003 study by Lileth and Eaves, Housing For Women a report with results that were completely flawed.

The study by the London based feminist charity which provide housing for vulnerable women including victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking claimed that instances and reports of rape were three times the national average in and around lap dancing clubs and that study in the London borough of Camden saw an increase in 50% of reports of rape after lap dancing clubs were opened in the area.

Despite these figures still being widely quoted, due to mathematical discrepancies, the authors of the study were forced to correct these figures to a 33% increase and the true figure is believed to be nearer 28%.

Although this number is still high the study also failed to take into account trends around London and the UK. Despite Camden having 2000 pubs and 129 licensed venues, of which only seven were lap dancing clubs, the rate of rape was found to be lower in comparison to other boroughs including Westminster and Islington and far less than Lambeth which had no such clubs!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47185652/Green-Paper-Camden-Lilith-rape-stats

Many other objective studies support the fact that sexual entertainment venues do not lead to any increase in crime or sex crimes but my biggest problem is that none of the objections are directly linked to Leeds.

If the SAR&SVL claimed there was an increase in sex crimes in Leeds due to these clubs then maybe I may sympathise with their case, but they are simply using a flawed 2003 study from a London borough to support their unfounded feminist claims.

In nearly ten years I am yet to hear of a girl working within the club to be the victim of a sexual crime. I am also unaware of any instance in close proximity to any of the Leeds clubs. Although I’m aware that sexual violence goes largely unreported I believe that management and security would be made aware of such crimes.

Despite a large increase in the reporting of sex crimes in Leeds in 2013 this has been attributed to the number of claims made against Jimmy Saville and NOT the operation of Leeds seven Sexual Entertainment Venues. Remember, West Yorkshire Police made NO objections to the granting of licences to the lap dancing clubs of Leeds.

And if there was a genuine fear that the presence of  clubs in Leeds led to an increase in rape and sexual violence then surely refusing licences to three clubs placed on busy, well-lit streets (Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard) and granting them to clubs underneath dark bridges or on quiet, dark, residential streets (Silks, Purple Door and Liberte) would increase the risk of these figures increasing.

I don’t believe there is a link between SEV’s and crime and believe the evidence and opinion I have provided is completely to the contrary. Lap dancing clubs provide a safe and comfortable environment for girls to work and the opportunity to IMPROVE the quality of life for themselves and their families.

Patron of the clubs very rarely cause nuisance or anti-social behavior and less so the more serious issues of rape and sexual violence. Evidence to suggest this is flawed and unsubstantiated and certainly not relevant to the city of Leeds.

I believe women are safe in and around lap dancing clubs and there is certainly no reason to but 200 people, mainly women, out of their jobs to uphold these misleading beliefs.

I would suggest that organsiations such as SAR&SVL should utilise their resources working WITH sexual entertainment venues and supporting the women who work in them rather than campaigning against them.

I urge anybody reading this to show their support for the women working in these clubs by signing the below petition and urge the MP’S and councilors to stop wasting tax payers money by trying to uphold these minority beliefs and moral crusade:

www.gopetition.com/petitions/dance.html

HOW LOWE CAN YOU GO?.....

HOW LOWE CAN YOU GO…….

Before reading this article please watch the following news article from BBC Look North in December covering the story of Leeds City Council refusing Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licences to three of Leeds biggest lap dancing clubs, Wildcats, Deep Blue and Red Leopard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z7L5Cpv4B4

Councillor Alison Lowe, one of the feminist councillors launching her moral crusade against the legal, law-abiding lap dancing clubs, gives some very weak reasoning behind the councils objective to close down the three clubs in question, personifying the aim of the D.A.N.C.E campaign – Don’t Accept Nonsense Councillor Explanations.

Here is my response to the reasoning she gives:

“Its about Leeds being a child friendly City”

Leeds IS a child friendly City whether there are lap dancing clubs present or not. Wildcats and Deep Blue have removed ALL signage from the front of their venues and have altered their opening hours to open at 11pm and 10pm respectively. This is way beyond a reasonable time to expect all children to have vacated the City Centre.
With no signage outside the venues how can any child be expected to appreciate what happens behind the closed doors at night? A group of school children leaving Leeds Town Hall or Leeds Art Gallery will have no idea what happens in the building opposite them. There is NO signage, NO advertising, NO naked women, NO clue as to what the building is. Currently there are not even opening hours displayed at Wildcats making the club almost invisible, much to the detriment of the business in order to satisfy the councils objectives.
Promotional activity has been reduced and does not take place until after 9pm with COUNCIL APPROVED flyers and flyering permits APPROVED and GRANTED by Leeds City Council. Even discarded flyers would cause no offense to children or families.
Leeds City Council do however seem to have no problem with children and families walking past shop fronts including Ann Summers, Simply Pleasure and Nice n Naughty who regularly display pictures of naked men and women, sex toys and erotic messages, in the day time for all to see.

“Its about generating new businesses that hopefully will replace the jobs that are going to be lost”

Has Alison Lowe walked down the Headrow recently? Currently five of the fourteen ground floor Headrow units spanning the distance opposite Leeds Town Hall and the Henry Moore Institute are unoccupied.
Anybody leaving Leeds Town Hall is faced with a row of For Sale and To Let signs and closing two of the largest units will only make this worse.

The unit currently occupied by Wildcats was previously tenanted by Babycream, a nightclub with a huge reputation and high hopes of being successful in Leeds…. It failed. More recently, Prohibition, one of the best and most established cocktail bars in Leeds, with a prominent position on the popular Greek Street, closed its doors, falling foul of the financial constraints and challenges facing the licensed trade industry today.
Four units in Leeds, previously granted SEV’s: Black Diamond, Blue Coyote, Directors and Planet Earth ALL remain vacant.
So, Alison Lowe believes new business will be generated to create jobs to replace those lost? I beg to differ. Units could stay unoccupied for years casting an ambience of emptiness and economic failure for those delegates exiting Leeds Town Hall facing the Headrow. I think I’d prefer two functioning, legal, law-abiding, successful businesses.

“(Its about) lots of women that want to be safe”

This one infuriates me as it is based on very little reliable evidence when in fact all evidence that does exist is to the contrary. I will go into further detail in a later blog dedicated to the subject but here is a summary.
According to University of Leeds research carried out by Teela Sanders, women working in clubs, “did not report violence and felt safe due to security” while interviews with regulators including licensing and police found, “compared to other bar and club venues in the night time economy SEV venues were the source of very few problems or complaints in terms of public order, safety and nuisance”.
NO objections were made against SEV licences being granted by West Yorkshire Police and one of the main objections, coming from Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SAR&SVL) is based in a 2003 study by Eaves Housing for Women in Camden which has since been proven to be completely flawed and unreliable.
In fact on granting the 2012 license, the licensing committee responded to such objections by stating, “these were of a general nature and not supported by any observations by the police or any evidence relating to Leeds”. Nothing has changed.
Wildcats and Deep Blue have been the subject of very few problems over the past ten years and I am fairly sure that 100% of women would feel much safer walking past one of those clubs than through the areas occupied by the likes of Oceana and Tiger Tiger, where a heavy police presence is constantly required.
I also question whether reducing the number of SEV’s to four and granting them to small back street clubs on residential streets, such as the two on York Place, instead of larger clubs on well lit busy streets would be sensible if these people are truly concerned that lap dancing clubs lead to an increase in sexual violence?

“3.5billion people will be viewing the Tour de France on TV, covering 188 countries and we don’t want Leeds to be shown in anything but the very, very best light”

This is by far the most ridiculous claim I have ever heard.
For a start, the population of planet Earth is 7.1billion. The 2014 superbowl attracted a record worldwide audience of 111.5million. The 2012 Olympics Opening ceremony was watched by 900million.  Is Alison Lowe really deluded enough to think that 50% of the Worlds population are going to watch the start of a race scorned by a history of drug cheats?
I don’t doubt there will be huge interest locally, but as a passionate sports fan myself I have never watched the start of any Tour de France and would be surprised if any person I know has, never mind half of them!!!
With all signage removed from the outside of the club and the club not opening its doors until 11pm how would anybody be any the wiser? I cannot imagine somebody sitting around a TV in Kenya or Djibouti saying “oh, there’s Bradley Wiggins in his nice yellow jersey, but hold on, what’s that, an empty grey building behind him, could that possibly… no…. never, a lap dancing club (insert imaginary gasp)!!”
This won’t happen because a), – there is no signage, b), – everybody will be watching the cyclists and c), – I very much imagine the best camera angle will be away from the clubs and facing the more picturesque Leeds Town Hall. I can think of 100 more reasons this is an invalid argument and could argue them until I’m as red in the face as the race leader using all his energy to push the peloton up the French Alps.
If all ‘3.5billion people’ that watch ‘Le Grand Depart’ were interviewed after the race, not one will have noticed a lap dancing club, they may however notice four or five prominent ‘To Let signs’.

“I think the City is one step closer to being the best City we can possibly be”.

So what constitutes a ‘best city’? London is the second most visited City in the world behind Bangkok and has 53 SEVs. Paris, the third most visited City in the world has 50. Rome, home of the Catholic church has 13 and Birmingham, the UK’s second City saw visitor economy rise to £4.9b helping to create 2126 jobs, with nine SEV’s.
Leeds attracts 23 million visitors per year with spending moving the City into the top five UK destinations outside of London. This has been achieved with seven SEV’s. Deals have been signed for Leeds to host Sports Personality of the Year 2013 and ‘Le Grand Depart’ while these clubs existed opposite Leeds Town Hall so these clubs are in no way detrimental to the draw that Leeds possesses for tourists and attracting major events to the City. In fact some could argue these clubs have the opposite effect and are possibly an attraction for these people and the visitors they attract.

All in all, the five explanations and arguments put forward by Cllr Alison Lowe and quite simply flawed, ambitious and unrealistic. Her ideologies to promote her moral crusade are completely inaccurate backed up my unrealistic claims typical of modern politicians.

The amount of support the lap dancing clubs have received has been tremendous and for a media outlet such as the BBC to cover the plight of the clubs in such a positive manner speaks volumes.

The solicitor on the BBC News programme may deny it but the council are expected to spend up to £200,000 in legal bills alone fighting to have the clubs closed down.

I encourage the council to spend taxpayers money more wisely and wise up to the realities of the jobs and livelihoods they are seeking to displace.

Please leave your feedback and show the council they are wrong in refusing these clubs a new license at a cost of 200 jobs. I also encourage you to sign the petition below:

www.gopetition/petitions/dance.html

What have Leeds lap dancing clubs done?

After my first blog describing my experiences in ten years in the lap dancing industry I now come to where we find ourselves today… in the midst of a legal battle between Leeds City Council and the cities three biggest clubs.

After granting licenses to smaller, secluded clubs, Silks (although this is due to be reviewed in June 2014), The Purple Door and Liberte, the council decided to refuse licenses applications from Wildcats, Red Leopard and Deep Blue due to their proximity to ‘sensitive’ buildings and buildings with ‘sensitive’ uses.

This decision seems astonishing given these clubs were granted licenses and had licenses renewed despite still being in the same place as they were seven or eight years ago!

In a later blog I will look into more detail the ‘sensitive’ buildings in question, none of which are believed to have made objections to the license applications. This article however will look at what has possibly changed over the past few years in order for the council to change their policy and what the clubs have done to support these policy changes.

There seems to be two very significant policy changes from the council which have led to their u-turn on the proximity of these clubs, especially in the instance of Wildcats and Red Leopard, both located on the Headrow, immediately opposite Leeds Town Hall.

First of all is the councils aim to become a ‘child friendly city’ and second, and in my opinion more significantly, the fact that this years Tour De France will depart on Saturday 5^th July 2014 from…….The Headrow.

Now, lets not think im totally blinkered and one-sided in all of this. I think this is an unbelievable coop for Yorkshire, tremendously exciting for the people of Leeds and a great opportunity to highlight the City on a world stage. I even agree with the sentiment that with the eyes of the world on the county, the city and even the street ‘Le Grand Depart’ would not want to be dominated by a back drop of lap dancing clubs with their signage and prominent advertising catching the attention of the cameras.

However, the simple fact is, it will not and here’s what the clubs have done to ensure this.

I will use the example of Wildcats, as, to date, Red Leopard have made no appeal against the decision not to grant them a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) license and therefore are currently operating an illegal business, which is a criminal and not a licensing matter. I am quite sure this club will be closed down, or as I am led to believe will happen, change the purpose of business away from lap dancing. Council 1 Leeds lap dancing 0.

Wildcats and Deep Blue however, have been completely lawful and socially responsible in their response to the councils concerns and have made changes and concessions to support the council’s objectives at a huge detriment to their businesses.

The first significant change they have made is to remove all signage from the front of the venue. This satisfies the councils concerns about being child friendly, the start of the Tour and in general opinions of visitors to the City.

No person visiting Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Art Gallery, the Library or Henry Moore Institute and facing Wildcats would ever know what happens behind these closed doors. There is no signage and no advertising. The opening hours of the club are not even displayed never mind any mention of the use of the premises.

There is no reasonable way a child or visitor to the City would know what the building is used for. So when the camera’s are on the Headrow for the start of the Tour De France, how will anybody in one of the 188 countries the greatest bike ride on earth is broadcast in, be any the wiser. They will be completely focused on the guys riding the bikes, not looking at a shop front without any signage trying to work out what it is used for!

I have sat many a time drinking coffee in the Café at the Art Gallery and listened to guests talk about how nice the building opposite are, the street, the trees: not once have I heard them mention what may happen in the closed, discreet shop front at night!

There is simply no way of anybody, already unaware, knowing that 153-155 the Headrow is a lap dancing club.

The second change of note is to extend the operating hours of Wildcats with the club not opening for business before 11pm. This is by far late enough to expect all children to have vacated the City Centre vicinity. With the club closing at 4am on weekdays and 5am on weekends it is also reasonable to expect that no child would be present in the City Centre during any of its opening hours.

It is also notable that not one of the ‘sensitive’ buildings listed by the council are open at these times.

The third change is a reduction in the amount of promotional activity the club undertakes.

Hummers and similar promotional vehicles were outlawed under the granting of an SEV licence in 2013 and only discreet flyering during club opening hours with council approved flyers now takes place.

Children and women would never be approached, but even discarded promotional material would not be offensive to these people in any way.

I have been approached by lap dancing club promotional staff on a number of occasions and have never found them anything but polite and courteous. Once I have said ‘no thanks’ this has always been respected and I have been left alone. This despite the fact I may have been the only person they have approached that hour on a cold Monday night!

The clubs have also increased the minimum age of entry to 21. Im not sure how much difference this will make but it should be another another step in the right direction for relationships between the club and council.

So, what we have is a club, closed in the day, with no signage and minimum promotional activity, which is on no way offensive and is trying to do all it can to keep its staff (remember this includes managers, bar staff, door staff etc as well as dancers) employed.

It is predicted that over 200 people will lose their jobs should Leeds City Council be successful in closing down the three clubs in question next month, and for what? To satisfy the morals of a select few feminist MP’s and councilors and the very few people that have made objections to licences being granted.

It has been estimated that fighting to close these clubs will cost the tax payer up to £200,000 in legal fees alone. Add to this the cost to the City in terms of lost income tax, business rates, tourism through stag parties etc.

What is doing more harm, closing these clubs down or letting them remain open with the above restrictions in place?

If you are in support of the clubs please sign their online petition….

www.gopetition/petitions/dance.html.

Show Leeds City Council that you’d like them to spend YOUR taxes more wisely and that closing these clubs down will do far more harm than good.

Please feel free to add your comments……

Leeds Lap Dancing 2004 - 2014

It all started as a student at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2004. I was working at a nightclub in Leeds City Centre when I was asked to fill in as a bartender at The Purple Door in York Place, Leeds. 

Since then I have worked on and off in the industry in various roles: bartender, promo staff, manager and promotions manager. I have even been known to do a stint on the pole!

The industry has changed a lot over the ten years and has never faced more challenges than it does today.

On that first shift in 2004, The Purple Door was one of only three clubs in Leeds along with Blue Leopard and DV8. The girls working in the clubs at this time were nothing less than stunning. Not a shift went by where a girl didn't bring in a newspaper or magazine they had been modeled for and photographed in. Promotions for the clubs was very discreet and all of the clubs were successful, evenly sharing a good sized market. Entry to the club was £10 and it was the same price for a three-minute private fully nude dance. Rules were very strict and no touching meant no touching: any customer that dared lay a finger on a girl was very quickly ejected from the club.

Over the next few years a lot of new clubs sprung up over Leeds including Red Leopard, directly opposite Leeds Town Hall and Wildcats, a little further up the Headrow.

With more clubs, more girls were required. I have always got along very well with dancers and respect them for the job they do. Earning a good living with instant remuneration working flexible hours, keeping fit and working in a fun and social environment. 

Many dancers were students, a great way to pay a very expensive three or four years in a City with two universities and many more colleges.

With the extra clubs, many of them bigger than the original three and requiring up to forty girls on a busy Saturday night I don't doubt the quality of girls declined somewhat.
During the early Purple Door days the quality of the girls merited parting with £10 as most customers saw them as way out of their league. Suddenly around 2007 all clubs collectively increased the price of a dance to £20.
The aggressive marketing of Silks, located in Sovereign Street, underneath the railway lines, brought about a big change in the Leeds lap dancing world.
To attract customers to the club, Silks had purchased two hummers and these chauffeur driven vehicles were used to drive around the streets of Leeds giving customers a free ride to the club.
Before you knew it, in fear of being left behind, every club had followed suit and revelers could not walk through Leeds without being approached by PR staff in hummers, mini buses, cars, limousines offering free rides to the clubs now battling for each others business.
Each club had around five or six flyering staff on the streets with suggestive flyers and drinks deals replacing the previously subtle marketing approach.
It was around this time I was Promotions Manager at Deep Blue and The Purple Door (operated by the same owners). We, of course, had to follow suit at fear of being left behind at a huge expense to the company.
It was around this time that the now aggressive and noticeable promotions of the club were attracting the attention of the police, local councilors and licensing departments.
The next huge change in the industry was the licensing of clubs. On 6 April 2010 the Policing and Crime Act 2009 came into effect and amended Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act. Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) were added as a category of sex establishments to enable local authorities to regulate those premises which provide lap dancing, table dancing, peep shows, pole dancing, strip shows and live sex shows and other similar entertainment.
Previous to this licences had been granted freely and cheaply and Leeds City Council appeared to have no problems with granting them.
Clubs are required to reapply for a licence each year, with a constant battle against campaigners and objections at a high cost to the clubs in terms of legal bills.
In 2012 licenses were granted to seven clubs in Leeds on the provision that all transport left the streets of Leeds. No more hummers, limousines etc were allowed. Even though this was detrimental to the clubs it was a decision I actually agreed with. Promotions had become too visible and Leeds was getting a reputation as the lap dancing capital of the England.
In 2013 Leeds city council took the decision to cut the number of SEV’s granted from seven to just four with licences for Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard refused due to their proximity to buildings with ‘sensitive uses’.
Both Wildcats and Deep Blue have appealed these decisions and are currently open with their license under appeal with a judicial review due to be heard on Wednesday 5^th March 2014.
Red Leopard has not appealed the decision but continues to trade illegally, tarnishing the reputation of the law-abiding lap dancing clubs.
Wildcats in particular have gone to great lengths in their appeal removing all signage from outside of the club, reducing trading hours with the club not opening until 11pm, increasing the minimum age for entry to 21 and reducing promotional activity.
This blog will day by day look at the reasons given by Leeds city council and objections made to the licence being granted as part of a campaign named D.A.N.C.E: Don’t Accept Nonsense Councillor Explanations. Over 200 are expected to lose their jobs should these clubs be forced to close down. It is not just the dancers, there are managers, doormen, bar staff, promotions staff, administration staff and the list goes on.
Leeds City Council are anticipated to spend up to £200,000 of tax payers money on fighting for the clubs to be closed down, for what? 200 job losses from closing down a respectable, successful, law-abiding business.
Many of those affected are friends of mine and their livelihoods are at stake. Many have worked in the industry for years and know nothing else.
The clubs are being closed based on moral judgments of a select few councilors and this blog will expose those people who are fighting to ruin the lives of my friends and former colleagues.
I encourage everybody that follows my blog to sign the online petition:

www.gopetition.com/petitions/dance.html

The decision of the licensing committee is not fair and is based on untruths and a moral crusade. This blog aims to highlight those nonsense council reasons and highlight the real truth.

I am not an employee of any of the club concerned but have a very strong connection with both Deep Blue and Wildcats and a huge interest in their current plight.

I hope you enjoy following this blog and I look forward to hearing your feedback and support and encouragement for those in danger of unemployment this time next month.

For now, enjoy your day and I look forward to writing again tomorrow.