Strip club licence approved despite objections

Eroticats moved to its new site in Cambray Place in 2023

A controversial strip club licence has been approved despite concerns from women's rights and religious groups.

Cheltenham Borough Council has granted permission to Red Apple Associates Ltd to renew the premises at Jessop House in Cambray Place.

The club would open to coincide with race days throughout the year and during the annual Cheltenham Festival.

Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (GRASAC) said although staff at the club may feel safe, local women "don’t feel safe enough to conduct their day-to-day life during race week".

Eroticats welcomes up to 500 members per night, and first opened during Cheltenham Festival last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service report.

At the council's licensing sub-committee meeting on 6 November, GRASAC highlighted the results of research by Cheltenham Borough Council, which found 75% of women "feel unsafe in and around the town during race weeks".

A trustee of Cambray Baptist Church, which is opposite Eroticats, objected to the council's decision to approve an SEV opposite a place of worship.

"Once again we find ourselves seeking to run activities for children, youth and families when opposite us we have an activity which is wholly inappropriate for these events and makes the area appear to be a no-go area for families in the evening," they said.

A Cambray Baptist Church trustee said it objected to the application

A senior Eroticats staff member told the meeting she feels unsafe as a woman in Cheltenham generally, but that was an issue independent of the venue, where she has worked as a dancer for 13 years before moving to a role taking care of the dancers.

"If I did not wholeheartedly believe this business to be safe and fair I would not be here today," she said.

Applicant Steve Burrows’ legal representative told the committee: "We recognise in Cheltenham that there is a balance and that some people may want to go into their churches and pray," he said.

"And other people may want to go into their venues and close their doors and dance and entertain themselves and that is perfectly legitimate."

The committee voted unanimously to grant the SEV licence.