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Gloucestershire Business News

Cheltenham strip club warned over illegal touching wants licence renewal

A battle over Cheltenham's strip club club business has erupted again amid claims of illegal touching.

Owners of Eroticats want permission to carry on hosting events at Under The Prom during race events.

More than 80 people have written to the council to both support and fight against the license renewal application.

Supporters, including dancers, door staff and customers, said regulating the venue prevents it from going "underground" and means it can operate safely within the law.

However, objectors said it "cheapens the town and normalizes sleaze". They have blasted the club for "jeopardizing women's safety" after it was caught breaching license conditions.

Dancers were seen touching each other and members of the public during a routine inspection in March 2024.

Council officers said the club had a "previous good compliance record" and issued bosses with a written warning.

Police said there was an "inevitable" spike in crime during race weeks but there was evidence strip clubs contributed to this or to prostitution.

Objectors said this is not good enough and they want the business shut down.

One wrote: "If severe licence breaches and a large number of objections from the public do not result in a refusal to renew a licence, then how can women and girls in particular and the public in general be expected to believe that the licensing committee, the police, Cheltenham Council or Gloucester Council are seriously invested in stopping male violence against women and girls and making women and girls feel safe?"

The business owned by Steven Burrows has courted considerable controversy over the years.

In 2023 it was granted permission to bring a second venue to town at Jessop House in Cambray Place and that license was renewed in November.

Previous Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk fought against that venue and accused the council of failing to exercise its powers to prevent Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) from operating here. He called for strip clubs to be banned in Cheltenham .

The council has always maintained it cannot refuse a licence on morality grounds but it does have the right to reduce the number of SEV (Sexual Entertainment Venue) it licences to zero.

However, it also believes regulating venues through licensing is the best way to keep dancers and the public safe.

This view is backed by supporters of Eroticats who said this latest application is a "no brainer" as not renewing the license would leave a "dangerous vacuum for unregulated parties and even organised criminals to drive this market underground".

The letter of support added: "This issue won't go away anytime soon, but it can be properly contained and regulated."

The council report said there was no evidence to suggest that SEVs are contributing to the nature and scale of violence against women and girls.

The committee is due to decide the application at a meeting on Wednesday (Feb 5).

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