Stringfellows has applied to Westminster City Council to turn the lower ground floor at 8-9 Dover Street into a strip club
The famous Covent Garden ‘gentlemen’s club’ Stringfellows is looking to take on a new Mayfair site which locals have warned will “undermine the character of the neighbourhood”.
The Dover Street premises is just a five-minute walk from Green Park station and has sat empty for several years.
Stringfellows applied to Westminster City Council for both a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence and a premises licence, the latter of which, if approved, would allow it to open until 6am seven days a week.
Objections were filed by responsible authorities including the Met Police, with PC Steve Muldoon writing in his submission that due to its location in a ‘special consideration zone’, “I have concerns around the hours applied for and the potential this has to have an increase in crime in the area at a time that is consistently difficult to police”.
Council documents show further objections across the two applications including from the Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum.
It reads: “The Forum supports the objections raised by the RSMSJ [Residents Society of Mayfair and St James’s] to all the applications submitted in relation to this activity. In particular, the Forum points out this part of Mayfair has been subjected to a significant increase in evening economy activity which is putting a strain on local residents.
“Any increase in late night activity after midnight, when ambient noise levels go down, impact on residents as patrons leave the premises, with many returning to cars parked along quiet residential streets. There are also residential flats adjacent to the venue who will be disturbed by the amplified music.”
Barrister David Dadds, representing Stringfellows at a council Licensing Sub-Committee meeting this week, told members that the requested applications would see the venue move away from a nightclub, which it is currently licensed for, and towards an SEV-led premises.
While acknowledging the hours requested are later than those stipulated under the existing licence, Mr Dadds said the impact Stringfellows would have on the locality would be less than if the building is turned into a nightclub.
Mr Dadds added the nature of such a premises means customers would be “discreet” with all SEV activities to be held in the basement, away from any residents.
The maximum capacity requested would also be reduced when compared to the current licence, down from 300 to 175, until 3am, after which point the limit would be 100 patrons.
On its suitability in an area better-known for art galleries and high-end hospitality, Mr Dadds said an SEV had previously been granted for a premises on Dover Street, indicating it has been deemed appropriate for such a venue.
“There’s no school, no place of worship, no community facilities. It’s obviously acknowledged that there is residential but it’s either behind or above commercial, predominantly on the ground floor.”
Both the Licensing Authority and the Met Police retained their objections to the application on policy grounds.
PC Muldoon said that while he was satisfied with the conditions agreed with Stringfellows he remained concerned about the late hours.
Belinda Harley, representing the Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum and Residents Society of Mayfair and St James’s, said there are “grave concerns” about the application.
She said locals and businesses fear the submission “is going to undermine the character of the neighbourhood”.
Ms Harley added the area is protected under council policies and has drawn opposition from a coalition of groups.
“You’ve seen Dover Street for yourselves,” she said to members. “Within feet we have The Royal Academy of Arts, The Royal Institution, The Arts Club, founded by Charles Dickens, the art galleries, the venerable and respected Brown’s Hotel. This will mean that all night and at 5.30am loud, drunken rowdy people will spill out into the street.”
Ms Harley said the venue would become a “potential crime hub”, and claimed that while the objection is not a “prudish” response to sexual entertainment, such performances are often enacted by young women due to “economic uncertainty, or worse”.
Mr Dadds contested the notion that there would be increased crime and disruption if the application is approved, saying this is not behaviour typical at Stringfellows’ other establishment in Covent Garden.
PC Muldoon supported this claim following a question from the Licensing Sub-Committee Chair, Cllr Robert Eagleton.
Ms Harley in her summing up reiterated her concerns about the application and the need to protect the “cheek by jowl, very close residential community” based in the area.
A decision is due to be issued by the council early next week.
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