Sex Establishments

Local authorities are enabled by Section 2 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 to adopt national licensing controls for sex establishments such as sex cinemas and sex shops. More recently amendments to Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 by Section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 provide local authorities with more power to reject applications for sexual encounter venues (SEV's) which provide entertainment of an adult nature such as lap dancing, pole dancing and striptease etc or to impose conditions on their licences. The law brings SEVs in line with other sex establishments.

If you run a sex establishment, you will need a licence from the local authority in whose area the premises are located. You may also apply to the council for the requirement for a licence to be waived. You must comply with any conditions attached to a licence. Persons wishing to make representations about an application you may do so to the district council. The representations should reach the district council no later than 28 days after the date of the application. We advise that you contact us to first discuss your concerns so that you may be appropriately advised.

Currently there are no licensed sex establishments in the area.

Refusal of a Licence

Licence applications will be refused under the following circumstances:

if the applicant is under 18 years of age
the applicant is disqualified for 12 months from holding a licence after a previous licence was revoked
the applicant, if not a limited company, is not resident in the UK or has not been resident for at least six months prior to the application
if the applicant is a company, they are not incorporated in the UK
if the applicant has been refused an application within the previous 12 months

Other grounds on which a district council can refuse an application are:

the applicant is unsuitable through being convicted of an offence, or through another reason
if the licence was granted the business would be carried on for the benefit of another person who would be refused a licence
the grant or renewal of a licence would not be appropriate taking into account the character of the area, the use of the premises and the layout, condition and character of the premises, vehicle, vessel or stall to which the application relates

The legislation allows a right of appeal against refusal to the courts.