Doncaster lap dance club 'harms town image'

A church and several businesses have claimed a lap dancing club in Doncaster is harming the image of the town.

New licensing rules mean Players Club on Printing Office Street must apply for a sexual entertainment venue licence.

Objectors to the club, which has been operating for three years, claim it gives the wrong impression to shoppers and visitors.

TR Leisure Ltd, which owns the club, declined to comment on the objections.

Players employs about 35 people and offers nude lap dancing, topless pole dancing and strip-tease.

All such venues must now have a sexual entertainment licence to continue trading.

In a joint letter to the licensing committee, 12 local businesses have expressed concerns about the image the club projects.

The letter read: "We do not want to be the 'Ayia Napa' of Yorkshire so let's put a stop to it."

The Reverend Stephen Clark, from the nearby Priory Place Methodist Church, has also written to councillors.

He said the town centre was not a suitable area for this kind of venue.

The application will be considered by councillors in Doncaster on 11 January.