Strip club Stringfellows bid for new Mayfair site

The famous Covent Garden strip club Stringfellows is looking to open a new site in Mayfair but locals say it would "undermine the character of the neighbourhood".

Stringfellows has applied to Westminster City Council for a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) license and a premises license on Dover Street, which would allow it to be open until 06:00, seven days a week.

The Metropolitan Police has objected on the ground it would potentially increase crime, while residents were also worried about noise and parking.

The club said all SEV activities would be held in the basement to cut noise and numbers would be limited to 175, then fall to 100 after 03:00. A decision is due to be issued this week.

The proposed location is the lower ground floor of 8-9 Dover Street, a five-minute walk from Green Park station.

A former Aston Martin showroom, the premises has sat empty for several years.

In a written objection, PC Steve Muldoon from the Met said: "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."

The Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum stated in a written objection: "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."

Belinda Harley, who represented the group at a licensing sub-committee meeting this week, said residents and businesses feared such a venue would "undermine the character of the neighbourhood", adding the area was protected under council policies.

"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 05:30 loud, drunken rowdy people will spill out into the street," she said.

Harley claimed that while the objection was not a "prudish" response to sexual entertainment, such performances were often enacted by young women due to "economic uncertainty, or worse".

Barrister David Dadds, who represented Stringfellows at the meeting, 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.

The change in license means Stringfellows would be able to be open later than if it were a nightclub.

Dadds said the change in license means the venue would have less of an impact on the local area than if it was a nightclub, as customers would be more "discreet".

The maximum capacity would also be reduced when compared to the current license, down from 300 to 175, until 03:00, after which point the limit would be 100 patrons.

Dadds pointed out an SEV had previously been granted for a premises on Dover Street.

"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," he said.

He added that crime and disruption had not increased with the Covent Garden site.

A decision is due to be issued by the council next week.

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