Watford Borough Council

Sexual entertainment - such as lap-dancing clubs, strip-tease or pole-dancing - are required to be licensed under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2009.

Relevant entertainment under the 1982 Act means:

"Any live performance or live display of nudity which is of such a nature that, ignoring financial gain, it must reasonably be assumed to be provided solely or principally for the purpose of sexually stimulating any member of an audience (whether by verbal or other means)"

Infrequent events

Licences are not needed for relevant entertainment if it is provided:

• for no more than 24 hours at a time
• on no more than eleven occasions within a 12 month period and
• has at least a month's break between events.

The law defines the way in which an application is made, which include advertising notice of the application in the local press and displaying a notice outside the premises for a specific time period to give passers by the opportunity to comment by a statutory closing date.

When considering an application the Council may only use the following criteria:

• the suitability of the applicant
• whether the person applying is a "front" person for someone else
• the location and situation of the premises in relation to other premises in the area
• whether the number of sexual entertainment venues in that locality is equal to, or exceeds the number which the Council considers appropriate for the area.

We have produced a policy to help decide these questions. Please contact the licensing team for more details or download a copy below.

Apply for a licence

You can do the following online:

- apply for a licence
- notify us of a change in circumstances

You can download the necessary public notices from this page.

Applications may be made at time to vary the terms of a licence.

It is in the public interest for us to process your application before granting it. We would expect that to take a maximum of 60 days. If you have not heard from us by that time, please contact us - you can do so online if you have applied using the UK Welcomes service.

Licences last for no more than 12 months at a time.

Your right of appeal

Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a licence or by any condition to which a licence is subject may appeal to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days.

An appeal against a decision made at the Magistrates Court may be made to the Crown Court but the decision of the Crown Court is final.

However, the right to appeal does not apply where the licence was refused on the grounds that:

- the number of sexual entertainment venues in the area exceeds the number which the authority consider is appropriate
- the grant of the licence would be inappropriate considering the character of the area, the nature of other premises in the area, or the premises themselves

Objections to licences

Any person objecting to an application for the grant, renewal or transfer of a licence may give written notice of their objection to the relevant authority, stating the grounds of the objection, within 28 days of the date of the application. Names and addresses are removed from objection letters before given to applicants to respond. Objections are considered at a sub-committee of three Councillors.

Offences and penalties

Anybody who operates a sex establishment without a licence or fails to comply with licence condition or admits persons under the age of 18 is committing an offence. Penalties upon conviction can range from £1,000 to £20,000.

Further information

Contact the licensing team on tel: 01923 278503 or email: licensing@watford.gov.uk