The Argus - News, Sport, Brighton and Hove Albion and Entertainment for Brighton, Hove and Sussex

Fully nude lap-dance club wins licence plea

From the The Argus, first published Thursday 2nd Nov 2006.

A CONTROVERSIAL lapdancing club featuring totally naked dancers has been granted a licence.

Brighton and City Council had rejected an application from Rocco Mana for a licence to open a club at the old ABC Cinema site in East Street, but Brighton Magistrates' Court has overturned the decision.

The firm still needs to obtain planning permission but if it is approved it will be the first fully nude dancing club in the city.

Police, city councillors and local residents have all condemned the ruling.

Council leader Simon Burgess said he feared it was the start of a "downward spiral".

He said: "I'm very angry about it. The decision was made by democratically elected councillors who were representing the views of residents but they've been completely ignored by the unelected magistrates.

"This club will set the wrong tone for the city and will damage our reputation."

He said the fact that the city council was ordered to pay Rocco Mana legal costs of £1,500 "added insult to injury".

He said: "We will have to think carefully about what legal advice and support we need in future, although we need to strike a balance as to how much of public funds we can spend on these cases."

Councillor Jeane Lepper, chair of the council's licensing committee which turned down the licence, said: "We considered the case very carefully. I feel very sorry for the people who live nearby."

Publishing manager Robert Nichols, who lives with his wife and three children in East Street, is campaigning against the club.

He said: "It's going to be a burden on the tax payer because there are a lot of conditions and it will cost an awful lot of money to police.

"All is not yet lost. Rocco Mana may yet fall down on the planning application."

Inspector Bill Whitehead, in charge of licensing for the police in Brighton and Hove, said he was disappointed by the decision.

He said: "It makes objections to similar applications much more difficult.

"My concern is over the type of clients that it will bring to Brighton and Hove and the potential effect on crime and disorder."

The licence would enable the club to admit up to 240 people, which is twice the capacity of each of the city's two existing lap-dancing clubs, The Pussycat Club in Church Road, Hove, and Top Totty in Grand Parade.

While they are private members clubs, meaning visitors must apply to join 48 hours in advance, visitors to the Rocco Mana club would be able to walk in off the street.

The club would open between 7pm and 3am every day.

Visitors would have to have their photo taken and give their personal details taken before being admitted.

Dancers at the current clubs wear g-strings but owner Ken McGrath said he would now be forced to apply for a fully nude licence in order to compete .

He said: "I'm afraid it will open the floodgates."

It is known that at least two other lap-dancing firms, including the For Yours Eyes Only chain, are looking at the possibility of opening branches in Brighton.

Simon Warr of Rocco Mana owns 49 per cent of the shares in American chain Spearmint Rhino, one of the major lap-dancing chains in the country.

No one from Rocco Mana was available for comment.

Archive Home