A public consultation has been launched by Cheshire East Council in relation to the regulation of sexual entertainment venues, such as ST Lounge which opened on Grove Street last year.
People will be able to have their say on whether the Council should adopt Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act makes provision for the regulation of 'sex establishments.' Previously only two forms of sex establishment were covered by the legislation, sex shops and sex cinemas, but on 6th April 2010 section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 came into force, introducing a new category of sex establishment to Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act. This new category is known as 'sexual entertainment venues', which are any premises where relevant entertainment, including lap dancing, pole dancing, table dancing etc, is provided before a live audience for the financial gain of the organiser or the entertainer.
If adopted, the legislation will mean that the Council has the ability to impose conditions on licences: these could relate to matters such as the hours of opening, the conduct on the premises and the responsibility of the licence holders. It would also give powers to refuse future applications if the Council determines that there are already an appropriate number of similar establishments in the locality.
The Council is seeking views on whether it should adopt the amendments to Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act and introduce a regime for the regulation of sexual entertainment venues in the Borough. The Council is also seeking views on the draft policy which the Council would seek to implement if the amendments to Schedule 3 were to be adopted.
Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member with responsibility for safer and stronger communities, said: "I hope that people will take a look at the legal documents and the draft policy and give us their feedback.
"Consultations such as this are an opportunity for people to have a say on decisions that affect their community."
The key documents can be viewed on the Cheshire East website.
Any consultation responses should be submitted by no later than noon on 29th December 2010. Consultation responses can be submitted by email or made in writing, submitted for the attention of Mrs K Khan, Legal Services, Cheshire East Borough Council, Westfields, Middlewich Road, Sandbach, Cheshire CW11 1HZ.
If providing a response in relation to the draft policy the Council request that you clearly identify within your response the paragraph of the policy to which your comments relate.
At the conclusion of the consultation exercise all responses received will be reported to a meeting of the Council's Licensing Committee. A copy of the report will be available prior to the meeting on the Cheshire East website.
