Church in Oxford loses appeal over lap dancing club

A church in Oxford has failed in an attempt to stop lap dancing at a nearby club.

St Ebbe’s Church launched an appeal against the award of a licence to the Lodge Gentlemans Club in December 2009. Some 800 people had signed its petition against the club.

A judge at Oxford Magistrates’ Court rejected the appeal on the basis that there was no evidence of a safety risk.

Reverend Vaughan Roberts told the BBC that granting a licence to the club was inappropriate because of its proximity to the church.

He said: “We are obviously disappointed about the decision because it doesn’t fit with the council’s intention to regenerate this area of the city and doesn’t take into account that women should be able to feel as safe as possible when they are out at night.”

Alistair Thompson, a co-owner of the Lodge, insisted that they wanted to avoid conflict with its neighbours, and that most people would only know about the lap dancing if they had read about it in the local newspaper.

He said: “We don’t advertise what the building is and what is going on inside.”

The Policing and Crime Act 2009 gave local communities a stronger say over the establishment and location of lap dancing clubs in their area. Local authorities were also handed more power to reject applications for clubs or to impose conditions.

However, this new regime came into force on 6 April 2010, and so did not apply to the St Ebbe’s case.

Oxford City Council has, however, passed the required resolution to adopt the new approach.

Local authorities which decide not to apply the new regime must within one year consult local people about whether it is what the community wants.