7:07pm Tuesday 27th November 2007
By Jane Bruccoleri
Members of the Salvation Army met for a prayer meeting outside Wandsworth Theatre to raise concerns over a planned lap dancing club at the historic venue.
The premises next door to the Town Hall could be turned into a lap dance and striptease club if a licensing application submitted by Agora Entertainment gets the green light.
But the Salvation Army fear that a club of such nature could add to the problem of human trafficking with Major Alan Norton saying "there's more slavery now than when Wilberforce was around."
He added: "We want Wandsworth to be a brighter borough in more than just the way the council promotes it.
"We would like to see a general lightness, goodness and pleasantness and so struggle to see how having a lap dancing club is going to help the borough.
"It is likely to bring in a darker side of life and while we can't pretend this doesn't exist, there is no need to invite it in."
Maj Norton said trafficking is a concern and pointed out research that has linked lap dancing clubs with other activities such as prostitution.
He has also made a submission against the plans to Wandsworth Council and is encouraging others to do the same.
Within his argument, he points out a number of reasons why the club would be unsuitable, including the fact Wandsworth differs greatly to Soho and has families and old people living in close proximity to the proposed club and how close the proposed venue is to South Thames College and therefore young people.
Should the club be given the green light by the council, the Salvation Army will not be letting the issue "go by", he said.
A solicitor for Agora Entertainment and the club said: "There is a lot of misconception about the licensing application for this site.
"The premises intend to operate as a nightclub with the provision of ancillary adult entertainment.
"To put it in perspective, the venue is approximately 10,000 square feet in size. The ancillary entertainment is intended for an area of approximately 600 square feet.
"The ancillary entertainment will neither be visible to people passing the venue outside nor to patrons within the nightclub space of the venue.
"This has been discussed with the authorities and conditions have been proposed to reflect the style of operation sought."
A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said: "When an application is put in, the licensing committee has to look at various areas, including the impact on young people and the impact on crime.
"All submissions we receive will be considered by the licensing committee and assessed against the key criteria set down in the licensing act."
The deadline for submissions is Thursday.
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