DESPITE heavy opposition from campaigners and members of the local community, three Cardiff strip clubs, all on the same street, have been given permission to stay in business.
Dusk till Dawn, For Your Eyes Only and Playhouse Gentlemen’s Club, all located on St Mary’s Street, have been granted a renewal of their sexual entertainment venue licence for another year.
The meeting in which the renewals were granted saw activists, private citizens and the deputy leader of the council all object to the renewal of the licences on the grounds of the changing political attitudes, the changing character of St Mary’s Street and the objectification of women’s bodies.
The solicitor representing the clubs, Piers Warne, said the character of St Mary’s Street, which he called a “hub for hospitality” and the “heart of the nighttime economy in Cardiff, had not materially changed in the last decade.
He continued that the objectors “offer no evidence that the three clubs create a cumulative problem in the area.”
Mr Warne also called the entrances to the clubs “discreet” and that people would “miss the doorways if you weren’t looking for them”.
He also spoke about the extensive safeguards in place at each of the clubs to protect dancers, other members of staff and patrons from harassment and other abuse.
Objecting to the licences, Cllr Sarah Merry, Cardiff’s deputy leader, argued that strip clubs contributed to a culture of misogyny towards women, many of which, she said, didn’t feel safe walking through St Mary’s Street at night.
She also rejected claims the character of the street had not changed, saying that there was “probably not an area of Cardiff that has changed more over the last 15 years”.
The deputy added that such clubs have “no place in Cardiff in the year 2026”.
Another objector and frequent visitor to the city, who only gave her name as Helen, argued that the presence of such clubs on such a prominent street made women and girls uncomfortable.
She said: “A woman’s sense of comfort and freedom in a public space matters in its own right.
“What type of city centre do we want in our capital city?”
Miz Jakubovic, campaigns lead for the women’s charity Filia, said that majority of women surveyed by the charity in Cardiff were against the clubs and that women she had spoken to said the clubs made them feel “unsafe”.
She said: “Women’s safety is not a moral issue or a political issue.”
Objector Bronwen Davies, said the clubs “belong in the dust bin with Page 3 and pin-up calendars” and another objector, Kate Owen, said that the clubs operated on a “business model founded on sexual commercialisation against women.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting Ms Jakubovic said: “Obviously, we are disappointed that the renewals were approved but we are really glad for the time [the committee has] taken to listen to women’s experiences in Cardiff city centre and that women’s safety and equality was considered by the chair, the panel and the committee.”
Glenn Nicie, the managing director of all three clubs, told the LDRS: “I think the committee came to the right decision.”
He also stated that he would be open to strengthening the already existing safeguards in the clubs to further solidify the safety of the dancers and woman patrons to the clubs.
Report and photos by Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter
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