Strip club will face huge opposition at meeting

Shades Gentleman’s Club in High Street has applied for the annual renewal, with the hearing taking place at Leamington town hall on Monday from 10am.

More than 300 objections - one of highest number recorded for a licensing meeting - have been sent to Warwick District Council , the licensing authority.

The Green Party has been very active in the campaign against strip clubs in Leamington while the Hindu Religious Association, which has its temple near Shades, has appointed a barrister to present its objections at the hearing.

County councillor Jonathon Chilvers (Green, Leamington Brunswick) said:“This is the third time we have come to a hearing over the club’s licence and our objections are very similar again.

“We want Leamington to be a place where people can feel safe and proud to live with a healthy and vibrant community where people support each other.

“Having a sex club here is not part of that.

“Residents from across the area have expressed their concerns over the last couple of years and we are not going to give up. I have two young daughters who walk around the area with me and whether it is signed or not and whether there have been any incidents connected to the club or not, I don’t want them to be living near a place where women are treated like objects and not 
real people. I would urge those who are going to make the decision to think about whether they would want this kind of establishment in their area.”

Shades was granted its licence by the council’s regulatory committee by a vote of four to five in August last year.

It was the third time the club had applied.

At the hearing, solicitor Ian Besant, representing owners Robert and Lisa Ransford, argued that Shades had been run as a strip club for four years before new legislation was brought in and there had been no complaints or issues.

He pointed out that neither Warwickshire Police or environmental health officials had raised any objections to the application.

Cllr George Illingworth (Con, Kenilworth Abbey) also said there was no solid evidence the club would affect the area in the way objectors had suggested.