Strip club owner says venue is not chasing students

Flirtz owner, Amanda Cropper, wants to admit people under 21

The owner of a Nottingham strip club which is applying for permission to allow full nudity said she just wants to be allowed to operate as any other club in the UK.

Flirtz, off Friar Lane, has asked Nottingham City Council to relax restrictions on its operations.

Changes including extending opening hours, allowing fewer security staff, allowing full nudity in parts of the venue, and dropping the minimum age from 21 to 18 are set to be approved by the council at a meeting on 24 September.

But Nottinghamshire Police has raised objections to the plans, including on allowing younger patrons.

The unassuming entrance to Flirtz sits off Friar Lane

It said while it was the council’s decision, the force believes under-21s should not be allowed in full nudity areas, and a stronger Challenge 25 policy should be brought in.

Police licensing enforcement officer John Bolton said: “For some of these students, university life is the first time away from their family home, and as such they can often be socially immature.

“Permitting these individuals access to a premises that will potentially offer full nudity adult entertainment causes the police concern.”

"Target audience"

Flirtz’s owner Amanda Cropper said the venue has proved to be “decent”, having retained a licence since 2007.

She said the age restriction was to accommodate larger groups like stag parties they currently have to turn away - and not to tap into a student market.

She said: “We have a lot of stag groups in summer that are in their 30s and 40s and often there’s a lad under 21 with them. It’s hard to turn them away but we have to.

“We are simply asking for the city to allow us to operate under the same rules as every other club in the UK, including cities populated by students.

“Being there almost 20 years and having had less than a handful of incidents in that time, we have more than proved we are capable of running this venue."

She added: "As good as the students are for the city, they are certainly not our target audience.”

People should be allowed to make their own choices, said student Charlotte Yates

Students in Nottingham told the BBC they had mixed feelings about allowing younger patrons into the strip clubs.

Charlotte Yates, 19, said: “I thought every club was 18 anyway to be honest. It’s up to people what they do with their lives, I’m not too bothered by it.”

Ella Wood, 21, said: “I feel like young people need to be young - at 18 you’re technically an adult but enjoy being a teenager instead of rushing into things older people do.”

Jessica Woodall feels strip clubs are an "old-fashioned" way to spend a night out

Jessica Woodall, 21, added: “I didn’t even know there was a strip club in Nottingham. Maybe they’re trying to lower the age limit to attract people but I don’t think strip clubs are a great environment for 18-year-olds to be in.

“I think we’ve moved on, it’s kind of an old-fashioned thing, men going to strip clubs - I think there’s a shift in younger people.”