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Larne launches pre-emptive strike on sex shops and strip clubs
Monday, 12 October 2009
A sleepy Ulster town has said NO to sex shops and strip clubs — even though no one is planning to open any.
Larne Council is taking no chances even though there are no proposals to bring an X-rated business to the harbour town or surrounding villages in east Antrim.
Town Hall moral guardians passed a strict motion last week warning that sex establishments would not be welcome in the area.
By a majority, a motion was passed stating: “Council would not be minded to consider positively an application for a sex establishment in the area”.
Veteran Ulster Unionist councillor Roy Beggs — who proposed the anti-adult business motion — said it was “about time” to show that it’s a sin to flaunt flesh.
“Adam and Eve covered up after the Garden of Eden, so I think these businesses are completely inappropriate,” the former east Antrim MP told Sunday Life.
“I wanted council to let them know that if they approached us they would not be treated favourably.”
Party colleague Brian Dunn questioned whether the council had to powers to reject an application if a business passed legal requirements.
At the meeting Cllr Brian Dunn asked: “If someone wants to open a striptease club in Larne and they fulfil all the requirements, surely we cannot refuse just because we don’t want it?”
Council officers advised that the council should decide if an applicant received a licence based on criteria including the applicants background — but the decision could be open to a legal challenge.
Alderman Beggs’ motion was carried by seven votes to three.
Larne council also voted to abide by rules that state premises will not be used “for striptease or entertainment which involves nudity without the approval of council”.
The only exception granted was to actors who need to get naked for licenced plays.
It was highlighted at the council meeting that many of the restrictive measures on lap-dancing venues were set by the Government.
Last month, new laws were announced to force clubs in the UK to apply for new licenses.
They are to be reclassified as “sex encounter establishments”, and will have to reapply for permits costing up to £30,000.
Club owner Peter Stringfellow, 69, blasted the plans and said his lap-dancing venues are “gentlemen’s clubs”.
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Comments
34 Comments
It's news like this that makes the death of the late, great (and hugely entertaining!) Robert Lindsay Mason all the sadder...
Larne does have a multitude of problems although I'm not sure I agree with the poster who stated he wouldn't employ someone from there just because of the actions of the town's elected representatives... In fact, it's a good thing there aren't too many people who share that view or I would never have got out of the place myself!!!
There are a lot of decent, intelligent people who, due to their own individual misfortune, live in that bigoted, backward enclave. In many instances, their only sin is apathy towards local politics and, as a result, the same old idiots get reelected .
The politicians (and I use that word advisedly) are people who were living in the past 20 years ago, so one can only imagine how they view today's society with this new-fangled internet thingy and the like....
Posted by Hong Kong Mike | 19.10.09, 07:24 GMT
Larne has a problem. The problem is not the inhabitants of the town..... it's the council. They should be exported to live with the Amish is some backwater in Penns.... cause thats where this kind of "warped reasoning" leads to. Why have cars when God gave you legs, why have phones when you can shout loudly, why have electricity if you have a running stream, etc etc It's little wonder Larne is seen as a backwater. It's the same guys who have governed the town for 40 years and in that time the town has regressed 40 years leaving us 80years adrift of properly governed towns like Carrick. When asked where I hail from, I'm ashamed to admit I'm a Larne man, preferring to tell folks I live "in the Ballygally area" in the hope that this allieviates me of any association with the town of my birth.
Soap Box Bob
Posted by Local man | 13.10.09, 11:50 GMT
"premises will not be used “for striptease or entertainment which involves nudity without the approval of council”.
Wonder if that applies to private dwellings as well?
"said it was “about time” to show that it’s a sin to flaunt flesh."
Down with that sort of thing (pardon the pun)
Posted by Mrs Doyle | 13.10.09, 02:27 GMT
Hang on! Didn't Adam and Eve walk around in the nude before a third party talked them into something else.
Where not Adam and Eve made in the form of the maker?????
Bad example councillor Beggs. God intended us to be nude. It was the fallen angel that changed that. Similar to yourself Mr Beggs, someone who wanted things different from God.
If you had any knowledge of global, rather than small town politics, you would understand that if you suppress this form of entertainment, it leaves the underground seedy world, that YOU help promote.
Perhaps you should concentrate on the huge cocaine problem in Larne instead.
Posted by Gary Hall | 13.10.09, 01:01 GMT
so very very sad to see in 2009 adults who are afraid of sex and nudity for fear of an imagined god. As an employer, i could never hire anyone from a town like this for fear they couldn't deal with the real world. What hope is there for the people of larne if this is their elected representatives?
Posted by Sad | 12.10.09, 23:24 GMT
Use to be a comedy called "No sex please were British" with John Pertwee. Maybe we could get him to sign up and do a "No sex please were Irish".
Larne council can write the script.
Posted by Sam | 12.10.09, 20:20 GMT
Larne Man?
You are proud to be from (presumably born in) and continue to live in one of the most depressing, misserable backwaters in Western Europe?
I can read three things into your comment:
1) Malachy's comment made no sectarian overtones. For you to raise the spectre of sectarian politics says more about how you view the World than Malachy.
2) You appear to have set the bar precipitously low for yourself. Where is the aspiration in subjecting yourself (and your family) to a lifetime in Larne? the centre of nothing.
3) You cannot (or will not allow yourself) to hold a critical view of Larne based on what it is (excepting your obvious affection for your home town) or hold your local representatives to account (because you keep voting for the same power block //morons//)
In conclusion Larne Man you are not showing the markings of an intelligent individual.
Posted by MS | 12.10.09, 18:51 GMT
This story epitomizes what is wrong with this part of the UK.
Roy Beggs belongs to that select species of people who would happily dictate to the rest of this partial-province/region.Someone should give Mr Beggs a map of Europe and remind him just how irrelevant he is. Besides I doubt Adam & Eve needed much clothes, as the first homo sapiens I imagine they were fairly hairy..
Posted by kit | 12.10.09, 18:43 GMT
Down with this sort of thing!
Posted by Watcher | 12.10.09, 16:19 GMT
Stripping is indeed a terrible thing, for it may lead to the sinful act of dancing....
Posted by Pastor T | 12.10.09, 15:16 GMT
Larne Man, I think Malachy was being ironic.
Or perhaps he wasn't...?
Very funny story, thats the type of news i like to read on a Monday morning!
Posted by stu | 12.10.09, 15:06 GMT
""I went into Tesco in Carrick yesterday at 1230 wanting to buy a hot chicken leg from the deli for lunch. The assistant told me I couldn't until 1.00 o'clock as it was "against the law"! ""
Another dumb law caused by the errant mixing of religion and politics! The Sunday Trading Act NI (1994) was an appeasement to the 'keep Sunday special' brigade, and should be repealed immediately. It's not up to the state to dictate trading hours, its up to market forces.....
Posted by StephenM | 12.10.09, 15:01 GMT
It's usually straight laced types who are up to their necks in bondage gear and gimp "get ups".
Larne- I've had the misfortune to pass through it - what an awful town!!!!
Posted by sam | 12.10.09, 14:47 GMT
Adam and Eve had 2 sons, Cain and Abel. Who did they breed with to produce the rest of the world's population?
Posted by McD | 12.10.09, 14:38 GMT
Another good reason to get rid of these tiny, useless NI councils. My bro lives in Leeds. One council covering 600,000 people, not 6000.
Posted by jg | 12.10.09, 14:38 GMT
I agree with brig from Auckland NZ....... I also moved from my native city of Belfast to Germany in 1971 and have not regretted a minute of the fundamentalistly unpolluted environment here.
I also agree with Larne is not like this....sexual desires and a sexual life belong to life. Larne seems to resort to the same problem that the Republic of Ireland had with divorce and contraception: the strict Roman Catholics will not make use of such possibilities but there are more than strict RCs in Ireland(North or South)......the RoI forced its Protestant population to go elsewhere to avail themselves of these possibilities.....in my eyes an arrogance which was clearly dictated by the Roman Catholic Church and its bigoted old men who sit in office (btw I am Catholic....brought up very strictly but also critically).
Such possibilities should be in place for those who wish to avail of them....don't worry about the others.
Larne and NI: wake up......the decision lies with the individual.
Posted by sean gilmartin | 12.10.09, 14:16 GMT
"....Adam and Eve covered up after the Garden of Eden"
Yeah but they fairly went at it in the garden....where else do you think the worlds population of over 6 billion came out of!
Posted by Jason | 12.10.09, 14:12 GMT
If Adam & Eve are the criteria businesses must meet to have their application approved then am I right to presume that only applications for imaginary businesses will be approved by Larne Council in the future?
Posted by mister | 12.10.09, 13:56 GMT
Yet another reason to be embarressed to admit I live in Larne.
This is a council that would make you think they have done courses in how to waste public money and public time on complete drivel.
From a Larne Rate Payer your an embarressment to call yourself a council.
Posted by Mark | 12.10.09, 13:56 GMT
Brilliant! As a former Larne resident, I'm delighted to see Mr Beggs continuing to fly the flag for morality in the town!
I hope he tries to close all the bars there next. After all, the last thing folks need to see is, say, a drunken council member,
Posted by R A Clements | 12.10.09, 13:52 GMT
34 Comments