Lap dancing
Maidstone Council has thrown out an application for lap dancing to take place at a venue close to Maidstone town centre in Kent.
According to reports from the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), local residents had presented a case that such a venue was not suitable in an area being regenerated by the council, where there are already schools, churches and shops nearby. They were supported by the CLC.
Maidstone Council received more than 100 letters of objection before the hearing. During the hearing, the council heard from a member of the town’s street pastor scheme. Michael Phillips, the solicitor representing many of the objectors, said that granting the application would be completely inappropriate and effectively turn Bank Street, where the venue is located, into what he described as ‘a sex street’.
The council was persuaded by this argument and rejected the application on the basis that a licence for lap dancing would be inappropriate in that location.
