Barmouth sex shop bid rejected by Gwynedd Council

St Anne's Square butchers shopGoogle

The owners of Eva Amour spent £30,000 modernising this former butcher's shop on St Anne's Square, in Barmouth

A bid to keep a sex shop open in a north Wales seaside resort has been rejected.

Councillors in Gwynedd refused the licence over concerns it was "not in keeping with the character of the area".

Eva Amour had been trading on Barmouth's high street since November 2021, but a ruling on its licence was delayed by a year.

Owner David Powley said the customers were not "dirty old men".

In a statement to BBC Wales, Mr Powley said following the council decision the store remained open selling lingerie and other items. However, some stock had now been removed and was now only available to buy online.

"We would like to thank the many people who supported our application especially the 486 that signed our petition," he said.

The business had been based in Wrexham, but moved to Barmouth last year.

The owners invested £30,000 to refit the former butcher's shop in St Anne's Square and applied for the licence in January 2021.

It attracted 82 letters of objection, with council officers suggesting the location may not be suitable because of its proximity to a pedestrian crossing used by children on a daily basis.

Majority of customers 'women in their 30s'

Barmouth Town Council had voted unanimously against the granting of a licence.

Councillor Katie Price, on behalf of the town council, said: "The number of letters against the application far exceeds any previous licensing application we have discussed."

She added the council's view that offering a licence was "inappropriate" given the character of the area, near a pedestrian crossing and Barmouth Christ Church, where many events are held including baptisms, weddings and funerals.

However, speaking during the licensing hearing, Mr Powley said the customers were not "dirty old men", with the "majority being women in their 30s".

He added that since opening, the shop was "winning over" some people who were initially opposed.

Mr Powley claimed the consultation should have started afresh because of delays and that a petition supporting the initiative had not been fully considered.

"The passion of support for the shop has not been allowed to be presented formally," he said. "We've been open now for a couple of months and nothing has happened."

'It would open the door for a lingerie shop'

But the council report stated it had only eight letters of support.

Mr Powley said he was committed to staying in the area even without a licence, even though it could "lock the door for a sex establishment".

"It would open the door for a lingerie shop, for instance," he said. "That isn't a veiled threat, but we find ourselves in a very awkward situation because of the delays in this process."

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