Plans to double the size of a Leeds lap dancing club are facing objections – months after a campaign to cap the number of city centre strip venues failed.
Illuminati Ventures has applied to Leeds City Council for permission to expand the current Black Diamond club on New Briggate from two floors to four.
If approved, the new club would be renamed Tantric Blue.
But Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, who led a campaign last year to limit the number of sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) in Leeds, has written to the council to object.
She said: “The last thing Leeds needs is a new lap dancing club.
“We already have lap dancing clubs in prominent locations in the city centre and that’s why I’ve written to the council to object to this application and encouraged other people to do the same thing.”
All seven existing city centre lap dancing clubs, including Black Diamond, had to apply for new SEV licences following a change in legislation last year.
At the time a group of MPs, councillors and religious leaders failed in their bid to persuade the council to impose a cap – or ban them outright.
The new Illuminati application has attracted objections from Leeds residents. One, Nick Morgan, said: “It is inappropriate that two of the existing lap dancing clubs are directly opposite the town hall and the war memorial.
“The new application will see a third located near to an important cultural and historic buildings in the centre of Leeds.”
A separate application for a premises licence for the club, to be discussed by licensing chiefs on Monday, has prompted concerns from police about potential crime and disorder.
The YEP was unable to contact Illuminati for a comment.
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