Council 'doesn't value female citizens' say Swansea strip club protesters
| Posted: May 02, 2012
Protesters from the Swansea Feminist Network campaigning outside the Civic Centre
WOMEN'S rights campaigners say Swansea councillors don't value female citizens in the city after granting a sexual entertainment venue licence.
Swansea Council's Licensing Committee confirmed on Monday this week it had granted a licence for a club on York Street looking to offer pole dancing and strip shows.
But the club will not be able to offer sexual entertainment as the local authority is the landlord of the building and to do so would be a breach of the terms of the lease on the premises.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition against the application for the venue which is next door to the grade two listed York Place Baptist Chapel and opposite a Vue cinema, Aspers Casino and an outlet of the Eddie Rockets restaurant chain.
Members of the Swansea Feminist Network submitted written objections to Swansea Council and also staged a protest outside the Civic Centre ahead of the licence application hearing.
Swansea Feminist Network chair Adele Jones said: "We think that (the decision to grant the licence) demonstrates the licensing committee didn't take any notice of the evidence that we submitted.
"By doing it (granting the licence) they have demonstrated that they don't value the female citizens of Swansea.
"The fact that they granted it is enough for us to say we will carry on protesting against it.
"While we think it is a good thing they can't use these premises it indicates should they make another application the committee would go ahead and grant a licence.
"We don't take any comfort from the fact he (Paul Thomas, director of the company behind the application, Thomas-Bellis Leisure Limited) cannot use these premises."
York Place Baptist Chapel pastor Haydn Dennis said: "As far as the church is concerned it is a partial victory but I'm not going to be happy until we get the absolute news from the council that the application is dead and buried.
"We can relax then and forget about it, until then I am keeping both eyes open."
Councillor Keith Marsh, chair of Swansea Council's Licensing Committee, said: "The committee decided after a lengthy and searching discussion to vote in favour of the applicant and grant the licence.
"63 conditions have been imposed, some of which were specifically designed to protect the interests of female performers at the venue following representations by feminist groups of their concerns.
"It is considered those concerns have been adequately addressed."
Mr Marsh said the conditions included rules that no dancer shall perform any sexually explicit or lewd act, there shall be no tableside dancing, no lap-dancing, no peep shows and there shall be no live sex shows.
The licence agreement also stated there shall be a minimum distance of one metre between dancers and seated customers in the club.
Paul Thomas, director of Thomas Bellis Leisure, issued a statement on Monday this week confirming discussions have been ongoing between solicitors representing the club and the council's legal department over the use of the building since the beginning of the year.
Mr Thomas also thanked the public for the huge amount of support the club, which will be known as Bellissima, has received.
However, a spokesman for Swansea Council yesterday confirmed Thomas-Bellis Leisure is not the Council's tenant at the venue which was formerly known as the Jager Bar.
The spokesman said: "The council is the landlord of the building and the lease is between council and Mopellan Investments.
"In February, 2012, the council told Mopellan Investments that the proposal for a licensed sex entertainment venue was not permitted under the lease.
"Thomas-Bellis is not the council's tenant and there have not been any discussions with them with regards to any request to amend the lease."
rupert.hall@swwmedia.co.uk
Comments
hell of a picture of the SFN. Wouldn't like to bump into any of them in a dark alley.... :)
I really don't see what all the fuss is about especially when there are several well known brothels in Swansea as well as prostitutes advertising their services in the evening post under health clubs. I don't see any feminist groups protesting against this, so with that said is a strip club really that much of an issue??
Hacker_jack I can only give you a little information,which I consider to be factual. Most authorities regard these cities-if indeed any ruins are left-as submerged under the circled shallow waters of the Dead Sea,south of the Peninsula Lisan.All local traditions preserved amongst the natives of the country are in favour of this area. Josephus says that the Dead Sea extended from Jericho as far as Zoar,and the Christian historian Eusebius of the 4th. century confirms that statement and adds that there was a Roman garrison there.Also a mosaic map found in a Greek church at Madeba,which is dated from the fifth or sixth century,places Zoar at the southeast corner of the Sea. An American expedition in 1924 to determine the sights of Sodom&Gomorrah explored the south end of the Dead Seafound evidence of a Byzantine and Arabic Zoarbut believed that an earlier Zoar had been submerged by the continual rise in the level of the Dead Sea. Jebel Usdam (Mount Sodom) a range of crystalline salt on the southwestern end of the Sea is so named from the belief that Sodom stood near it. My information dates around 1964 when diving expeditions were planned. Though the main story is within Gebesis there is reference to these cities in later years viz. Amos,Jeremiah,Ezekiel and Jesus in the New Testament (Luke 10:12, 17:29) Paul,Peter and Jude also mention it. I can't imagine they coluded together to create a ficticious place,like the land of Lilliput.
A question for the Swansea Feminist Network. Do your members spend more time outside complaining about this - http://tinyurl.com/cgm5ay4 or inside watching ?
gorseboy, Exactly!
I fully take back my apology. Having been past there last night the signage viewable from LC2 consists of a large black banner with the name and a pair of lips on it, that's a lot more tasteful than most on Wind street so should be no problem. gorseboy - there is no scientific evidence that I am aware of that they ever existed, nor under the dead sea, if you can point me to some I would be greatly interested as ancient cities that are no longer with us are of massive interest to me.
WOMEN'S rights campaigners say - - we should be at home Looking after the Kids when they come home from School...??? and let the Lazy men go out to Work , ha ha .
urspurse, Swanea a beautiful city in your dreams
Swansea Council don't value female citizens of Swansea but that said they don't value the male citizens either. As far as the council's concerned this has nothing to do with the morality surrounding whether Belissima opens its doors to the public and more to do with the potential votes surrounding the up coming elections. Leave Thomas Bellis leisure get on with trying to make a living and if it's not "your thing" just don't go there. Simples!!
huwuh Sodom or Gomorrah! Look what happened to them. Hacker_jack The ruins are now covered by the southern end of the Dead Sea.