Ziggy’s becomes first of several strip clubs
Ziggy’s nightclub has undergone a £65,000 transformation to become York’s first strip club since the early 1970s. Since Ziggy’s opened for exotic dancing this September, seven other businesses have inquired about opening lap-dancing venues in York.
The popular student venue will continue to operate as a normal club mid-week, with exotic dancing taking place on Friday and Saturday nights. Up to ten strippers will be in performance on any such evening, each of whom will carry out two exotic dances on stage.
Customers will be able to buy a bottle of champagne and have a ‘private party’ with a stripper for half-an-hour, and private lap-dances will be performed in booths for an additional fee.
Clifton ward councillor Ken King, a member of the licensing act committee, said: “I don’t have a problem in principle with these establishments, although I do sometimes feel sorry for those people who feel they need to go to them.”
Of the seven further businesses seeking to open similar venues in York, King said “I wouldn’t want to see York being saturated with these types of establishments. Seven would be too many. That would seem a lot for a place the size of York.”
A City of York Council spokesperson said recently that “whilst there is no legal basis to prohibit this on moral grounds, we can put as many measures in place as possible to limit the impact on the general public and to protect performers.”
To this end, the Council has made licensing for strip venues contingent on a variety of factors. No exotic dancing will take place before 9pm, or on Sundays, and no nude photographs or images can be displayed outside the premises. No-one under the age of 21 will be permitted to enter to premises while exotic dancing is taking place, except the dancers themselves who must be over 18, and all dancers must be provided with secure dressing rooms away from public areas.
By Heidi Blake
DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
