Portsmouth's Elegance strip club to reopen next week despite objections of residents

Members of a licensing sub-committee agreed on Wednesday (April 19) that Elegance, which is due to reopen next week for the first time in three years, could continue operating from its base in Granada Road, Southsea after praising the track record of its owner.

Objectors had warned strip clubs could lead to the abuse and exploitation of women and that its location near schools and churches made it particularly unsuitable. Thirty people wrote to the city council opposing the annual licence renewal, however none attended Wednesday’s meeting.

‘I am opposed to the exploitation and objectification of women in the sex industry and feel that this kind of business should be discouraged by the city council,’ one of the anonymous objectors said, adding that if strip clubs were to be allowed they should be outside of residential areas.

No concerns were raised by Hampshire police, which a council solicitor said amounted to the force having no concerns about the business.

Elegance is run by Wellhot Ltd which also operates the city’s other strip club: Wiggle in Landport as well as three other businesses of the same name in Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth.

Having been open for 20 years, both Elegance and Wiggle were excluded from the city council’s sex establishment licence policy where it states ‘there is no place within the city of Portsmouth of which it could be said that it was situated in a locality in which it would be appropriate to licence a sex establishment’.

And licensing solicitor Jon Wallsgrove, who represents the company, said the fact that no objector spoke on Wednesday gave ‘limited weight’ to their argument that the business was unsuitable.

‘I’ve been before this committee on so many renewals and I was pleased to see that all of the futile allegations that have been made on previous applications have disappeared,’ he said. ‘This club’s been operating for 20 years and there has never been an incident where police have had to be called.

‘The allegations of intimidation by sexually-aroused men hanging around the premises are nonsensical; that does not happen.’

He added that although the licence allows the strip club to open seven days a week, it would not be operating daily.

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Sub-committee chairman councillor Lewis Gosling said councillors had considered each of the potential grounds for refusing the renewal of the licence and found ‘there is no basis’ to refuse it.

‘There were no compelling reasons to depart from adopted policy in this case and the sub-committee could not justify a change in position,’ he said, granting the renewal. ‘The sub-committee is reassured by the strict conditions and policies in place that they are significant enough to address the issue of gender-based crime and the risks to gender inequality are low.’

Speaking after the meeting, Wellhot Ltd director Paul Ojla welcomed the decision.

‘We get these same objections every year so it was no surprise to see them and no surprise that none of the objectors were here at the meeting,’ he said. ‘This is a very well-run business as the police and councillors have recognised and we’re pleased to have their support.’

Elegance closed at the start of the pandemic due to a lack of customers and has since struggled to recruit staff to allow it to reopen. But Mr Ojla said this had now been done and a refurbishment of the building completed and that it would reopen for the May bank holiday weekend.

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