More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to Swansea council opposing the licensing of a lap dancing and strip club next to a city centre church.
A report discussed by councillors said the Swansea-based applicant proposes to use the premises for entertainment which may include lap dancing, pole dancing and strip shows.
The minister of York Place Baptist Church, Haydn Dennis, said there had been “tremendous support” from the public to oppose the club and 1,026 people had signed his petition so far.
Welfare
In an interview with BBC Wales he said: “To have the effrontery to put it next door to my church – how much more brazen can you get?”
In a letter to the council, the minister explained how concerned local people were for the welfare of young people who may be involved in the establishment.
One objector commented “this type of ‘entertainment’ is wrong on so many levels including the denigration of women into mere objects”.
Shock
She also expressed shock at the proposed location for the lap dancing club which is opposite a youth-themed burger bar, and within eyeshot of the Vue Cinema.
She noted: “These are all family venues.”
In 2010 a sex shop next door to a school uniform store in Truro was given a licence to open in the face of much local opposition.
The licence means that the shop can sell R18 videos – the most hard-core pornographic films legally available in the UK.