Every lap dancing club in Leeds and the rules around their licensing including one 'inspired' by Playboy

Under UK law, all lap dancing clubs and other sexual entertainment venues – including sex shops and sex cinemas – have to apply for new sex establishment licences every 12 months if they want to stay in business.

They also need permission from local councils for any new advertising or promotional material they intend to use and for any changes they make to the front or layout of the premises.

In 2013, Leeds City Council effectively launched a cull on the industry in the city, closing three venues. Only four strip clubs are now allowed to run in the city at any one time, though at present just three have licences to operate. There have previously been calls to shut down all lap dancing clubs in the city, with one charity stating that “sexual violence against women and girls is inseparable from the objectification of women and girls”, but there were no objections to the city’s three strip clubs at each of their last licencing hearings.

Here are the remaining three Leeds’ lap dancing clubs and when they had their licences renewed.

Whiskey Down

Whiskey Down, a “Playboy Mansion-inspired” lap dancing club, had its licence to operate renewed in June 2022. During its licensing application, the city centre club said it was trying to create an upmarket 'new kind of image' for strip clubs, where customers would happily ‘check in’ on Facebook or Instagram.

The premises in Crown Street, which sells premium spirits worth up to £400 a shot, first opened in December 2017. Leeds City Council granted the club its fifth renewal in June, with no-one having objected to Whiskey Down continuing to run.

Aaron Mellor, managing director of Tokyo Industries, which runs the venue, told the hearing: “What we’re trying to do with Whiskey Down is to create a new kind of image for where SEV entertainment goes. It’s a lot more gender inclusive, so we work very hard to get more female attendance in there. We’re very LGBT-friendly.

“The audience is still predominantly male but we are attempting to shift that more and more. We concentrate quite heavily on the burlesque element of things and also on high-quality drinks.”

Mr Mellor said he had been inspired by a visit to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion several years ago and suggested he wanted to recreate the 'pipe-smoking' atmosphere of high-class 1970s parties with his chain of clubs.

During the hearing, councillors Sharon Hamilton said: “You must be running a very good establishment for there to be no objections from the police and others.”

Liberte

Liberte on York Place was given the green light to stay open by Leeds City Council in December last year. No members of the public or organisations objected to the club having its licence renewed. The club is marketed as a ‘Gentleman’s Club’ with one-to-one performances and it welcomes stag parties.

The venue was granted an extension by a panel of three city councillors, though it was told to ensure that welfare information given to dancers when they start work at the clubs remains up-to-date.

Purple Door

Purple Door, also in York Place, had its licence renewed in December last year. Like Liberte, no members of the public or organisations objected to the club having its licence renewed, and the venue was told to ensure its welfare information was up-to-date.

The club was founded in 1998 and sells premium spirit packages for as much as £999.