Agenda item

To receive the report of the Chief Officer, Elections & Regulatory, regarding an application for the renewal of a sex establishment licence for the provision of sexual entertainment in the form of lap dancing, made by Tokyo Industries (Ultimate) Limited for a premises to operate under the name of Whiskey Down, First & Second Floors, 25 Crown Street, Leeds, LS2 7DA.

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory requested Members to consider the renewal of a sex establishment licence for the provision of sexual entertainment in the form of lap dancing. The application was made by Tokyo Industries (Ultimate) Limited for a premises to operate under the name of Whiskey Down, First and Second Floors, 25 Crown Street, Leeds LS2 7DA.

In attendance for the meeting were:

·  Aaron Mellow, Director of Tokyo Industries (Ultimate) Limited – Applicant

·  Marcus Bentley – General Manager, Whiskey Down.

·  Sue Duckworth – Entertainment Licensing

·  Cllr Tyler Callum Wilson, Parish Councillor at Aberford Parish Council – Observing

·  Don Mort – Democracy Reporter

The Legal Officer set out the procedure for the hearing and as the Sub-Committee had received apologies from one Member asked if the applicant was agreeable to proceed with only two Members. The applicant was agreeable to the application being heard by two Members.

The Licensing Officer provided the following information for the Sub-Committee:

·  A history of the premises was provided at Paragraph 3.0 of the submitted report which noted that an application for a sexual entertainment venue had been determined at a licensing sub-committee hearing held on the 14^th March 2017. Members at that meeting had approved the application and subsequent applications to renew the licence made annually had been granted as requested. A copy of the current licence was attached to the report at Appendix A.

·  A copy of the application for renewal was attached at Appendix B.

·  Members were asked to note the additional documents supplied by the applicant which were appended to the report at Appendix C and included:

o  Dancers Welfare Policy

o  Dancers Code of Conduct

o  Customers Code of Conduct

o  Pricing Policy

o  Trade Union details

·  At Appendix D Members were provided with images of the external appearance of the premises.

·  No representations had been received from West Yorkshire Police.

·  It was noted that Entertainment Licensing had made a representation not as an objection, but rather a suggestion for revised conditions to replace the existing conditions on the licence, which had been identified as out of date, redundant and in some cases, unworkable. The letter from Entertainment Licensing was attached to the report at Appendix E. Members had been advised that a review of the conditions had been undertaken in consultation with the existing Sexual Entertainment Venues.

·  A map identifying properties of sensitive use in the surrounding area had been attached to the report at Appendix F.

Mr Mellow provided the following information for the Sub-Committee:

·  Whiskey Down is what used to be the Townhouse and is located behind the Corn Exchange. He advised Member that the signage is only lit up and used at nighttime.

·  £1m had been spent developing the site. He wanted to change the appearance and view of a gentleman’s club, which in his view had become jaded over the years.

·  Whiskey Down provides a number of alcoholic beverages including a range of rare and exquisite whiskey’s, rum’s, brandies and bourbon’s, ranging in price.

·  Mr Mellow said that he was agreeable to the revised conditions as suggested by Entertainment Licensing. However, he was unhappy that Entertainment Licensing had used a generic email address to consult on the revised conditions and requested that in future any consultation should be undertaken via a more personal email address.

The Sub-Committee welcomed the work of officers in reducing the number of sexual entertainment venues over the years and the work that had been undertaken to ensure and promote the welfare of the performers.

In response to a question in relation to the welfare packs for performers the Sub-Committee were informed that all information including telephone numbers were up to date. It was also noted that Entertainment Licensing were in the process of liaising with Women’s Aid to hold relevant information for performers separate from the establishment should they require it. It was noted that once the work had been completed the information for Women’s Aid would be sent to the sexual entertainment venues for inclusion within the welfare packs.

The Sub-Committee were advised that work had been undertaken to:

·  Update the welfare packs and make it easier to comply with the conditions.

·  DBS checks had been formalised.

·  There was better security in the private booths.

·  Clearer information and clarification on what to expect in relation to non- touching.

·  The revised conditions would be an improvement for both the performers and the business.

The Sub-Committee suggested that Members be invited to visit the premises to ensure for themselves that the performers were respected and safe. This was noted by officers and with the agreement of the Chair of Licensing could be taken to a future meeting of the Licensing Committee.

During Members’ deliberations the work of officers on the performer welfare packs was acknowledged.

RESOLVED – To grant the renewal of the Sex Establishment Licence as requested. 

The meeting concluded at 11:35