Strip club in Leeds inspired by Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion has licence renewed

Whiskey Down, near the city’s Corn Exchange, “operates safely” and “within the rules”, councillors were told at a hearing on Tuesday.

The strip club, one of three currently operating in Leeds, was established on Crown Street in 2017.

It is run by Tokyo Industries, whose CEO has previously spoken about how the venue tries to recreate a high class “gentleman’s club” environment akin to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion.

A panel of three councillors unanimously agreed to grant Whiskey Down’s application for a 12-month extension to its licence, which had received no objections from any members of the public or authorities.

The club’s general manager, Marcus Bentley, told the hearing: “To my knowledge we’ve not had any adverse reaction from local neighbours. I think we still get on with our neighbours, the ones we still have.

“The most important thing on our side is the performers.

“Whatever they’d like we do try to appease them. I feel we’ve done that.

“We operate within the rules and I think we operate quite safely.”

Mr Bentley said the club had updated its dancer welfare pack with details of trade unions staff they can contact if necessary, following a council request last year.

The hearing was told a routine visit by the police and enforcement officers had found no welfare or safety concerns.

Asked by panel chair, Councillor Andy Hutchison, if there were any recent crimes at the venue that had had to be reported, Mr Bentley replied: “We can have the odd person we’ve had to eject.

“I don’t think any of those have been created into a police matter. We have very, very good CCTV capturing the front of the building and round the back of the Corn Exchange and we provide the police with evidence of crimes (in the area) which are not related to us.”

The club must continue to abide by a number of conditions, including restrictions on its advertising.

Under a policy introduced by the council in 2013, only four strip clubs are allowed to run in the city at any one time.