Development Management Committee

Tonight saw the first meeting of the year of the Development Management Committee of Dundee City Council. The main item which brought most debate was over an application to provide Adult Entertainment at Seagate Public House and Nightclub. There was a delegation from the Dundee Violence Against Women Partnership which spoke against the whole idea of an 'adult entertainment club.' They pointed out their belief that such 'lap-dancing' clubs can lead to anti-social behaviour and even violence. We were informed that we could not make 'moral' decisions about this application. Legally, our decision had to be based on 'planning matters.' I was disappointed that we could not make the case that the committee just did not want such an establishment to open in Dundee.

I seconded a motion by Councillor Ken Lynn which moved against this application on the grounds of noise nuisance. The proposed adult entertainment venue would result in concentrations of people congregating outside the site generating instances of significant noise disturbance. I was pleased to speak against this application on this basis. I was pleased that the committee unanimously supported the motion which I put forward and that the council denied planning permission for this club. The applicant has the right to appeal, and may well do this, but as things stand at the moment the pub/nightclub in the Seagate will not be turning into an 'adult entertainment club.'