Licensing policy change could phase out strip clubs in Aberdeen

Strip clubs could be phased out in Aberdeen after a policy change was agreed by councillors.

The city has five sexual entertainment venues.

Aberdeen City Council's licensing committee has agreed to adopt a "presumption against" granting new licences, including for any replacement of an existing site should it close in the future .

Tony Cochrane, who owns Private Eyes in the city centre, said the industry was being wrongly "targeted".

The five venues will still be able to submit applications to renew their licences.

But the committee could refuse permission for new premises in a move that could lead to five venues reduced to zero.

Convener Gill Al-Samarai said: "The committee made the decision after careful consideration of all the factors involved with the prime consideration of public safety.

"We took care to balance the freedom of individuals to engage in legal employment and activities with the right to exercise appropriate control and regulation to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of the staff and patrons."

A similar move in Edinburgh was overturned in 2023, after a group of club owners and performers launched a legal challenge against the move.

Cochrane, who runs two strip clubs in Aberdeen, said the move came "out of the blue" and the industry was not spoken to prior to the decision.

He added: "There was no actual reason for it to suddenly happen, so we are a bit confused as to why they should do this.

"All they are doing is harming themselves by taking away the work of those girls who do it."

Cochrane said operators should have been invited to a meeting with the committee before a decision was taken.

He said: "We would work with them and change things if they felt those changes are needed."

Aberdeen Violence Against Women and Girls Partnership (VAWGP) said it welcomed the move.

A spokesperson added: "This position aligns with that adopted by the VAWGP that sexual entertainment venues are a form of commercial sexual exploitation, which is incompatible with gender equality and contributes to the objectification of women.

"The partnership supports measures that reduce and ultimately eliminate commercial sexual exploitation."