Public consultation approved for "sex establishment" licence review in Whitley Bay

North Tyneside Council is set to launch a public consultation on its “sex establishment” licencing policy. Prospective venues such as sex shops, erotic cinemas, and “sex entertainment venues” in the borough may be subject to new regulations.

North Tyneside cabinet met last night to approve the launch and organisation of the consultation. There are currently no businesses which come under the label of sex establishments in the borough but the Council is duty bound to review its policy to safeguard against future applications.

A new draft policy has been updated to include:

• Updated references to the Council Plan
• Reference to Public Sector Equality Duty
• Need for Basic Disclosure Certificate for applicants
• Safeguarding training for applicants

Read More: Whitley Bay corner shop spared permanent loss of alcohol licence

The Council Plan is a set of guiding principles the local authority published with the aim of creating a “family-friendly”, “caring”, and “secure” borough. The public consultation on these proposed changes will occur between October 10 and November 18 2022.

In the original policy, the Council limited the number of adult venues in Whitley Bay’s Whitley Road, Park Avenue, the Esplanade, and the Promenade to nil. The updated policy retains this limit.

However, according to the council report: “That limit does not preclude an application for a licence being made within the specified area that would take the number of licences in the area above the set limit.

“However, in such a situation the presumption will be to refuse such an application and the applicant will have to make their case as to why the licence should be granted in any particular location contrary to the policy which has set the limit in that area as nil”.

There are exemptions for such licenses. A venue need not apply for a licence if it already has a premises licence and the adult entertainment occurs no more than 11 times in a 12-month period and for less than 24 hours.

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