Council says 'no more strip clubs' in Sheffield

The authority is rethinking its sex establishment policy, and a key aspect is to limit the number of sexual entertainment venues within the city borders to two.

There are already two licensed venues: city centre lapdancing bar Spearmint Rhino in Brown Street, and La Chambre swingers club in Attercliffe Road. Spearmint Rhino applied last month to renew its licence.

Other proposals are to ban sex cinemas - of which Sheffield has none - and limit the number of sex shops to one per council ward.

There is an exemption for Attercliffe, which has two sex shops. But if one loses or does not review its licence, the limit will drop to one.

A consultation will run until March 31.

Cabinet member for environment Bryan Lodge said the aim was to bring the three types of sex establishment under one policy.

He added: “Initially, the licensing service carried out a series of pre-consultation workshops where officers gathered the views of a range of groups and organisations, including schools, religious establishments, equality groups, elected members and any objectors to previous licences.

“Following these workshops, a new policy was drafted and released for an eight-week consultation. We received more than 50 responses to the consultation and have considered them all carefully before deciding on any changes to the policy.”

A plan to open a second city centre strip bar, Villa Mercedes in Suffolk Street, near the railway station, was dropped at the last minute in September after huge public opposition.

City centre councillor Douglas Johnson said the proposed new policy would avoid a repeat of the ‘totally unsuitable Villa Mercedes application’.

Have your say at https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place-business-strategy/sex-establishment-policy-1/