News / bristol city council
Date finally set to decide the fate of Bristol’s strip clubs
The long-awaited date on which a council vote on whether to ban strip clubs in Bristol has been announced.
In the city, dancers face an uncertain future as Bristol City Council has not yet published the results of a 12-week public consultation on a proposed nil-cap.
Some 15 months have passed since a draft policy was published to introduce the citywide ban.
is needed now More than ever
But a council meeting heard that, on July 28, the fate of sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) will be decided.
If a nil-cap comes into play, the city’s two SEVs would be left without a licence to operate.
Amelie is a member of the Bristol Sex Workers Collective – photo: Betty Woolerton
Licensing committee chairman and Labour councillor for Eastville, Marley Bennett, announced at the end of a meeting on Thursday that the vote will take place in six weeks’ time.
Bennett said: “The date of the next meeting is July 28 and is the hearing to decide the SEV policy.”
He added: “We can say publicly that we have been thinking about the consequences of our decision, so we want to ensure that members are as fully equipped as possible to make a decision in a legal matter.”
Amelie, a dancer from Bristol Sex Workers Collective, told Bristol24/7: “Now the date has been set, we’re feeling pretty nervous. We don’t know which way it’s gonna go as consultation results still haven’t been published. I’d like to say I think it’s going to be a positive result for us, that’s my opinion. But we don’t have a crystal ball.”
United Sex Workers say they will threaten the council with legal action if a nil-cap is imposed – photo: United Sex Workers
Strip and pole-dancing clubs are legal in the UK but it is up to individual councils to grant licences.
There are two SEVs that currently hold licences in Bristol – Central Chambers on St Stephen’s Street and Urban Tiger on Broad Quay. Under the council’s current policy, from 2011 a third SEV is also permitted in Old Market.
A panel of councillors renewed the two venues last September despite objections from women’s campaigners. Councillors heard both met all the requirements of their licence conditions and the police had not objected.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read more:
- Should Bristol ban strip clubs?
- ‘We shouldn’t be treated as second class citizens’
- ‘A nil-cap in Bristol would help women reclaim the night’
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