Research Project on Lap Dance Clubs in Manchester: Have your say

[JoanneM]

I am involved in a research project looking at lap dance clubs in Manchester, how they are licensed and how people feel about them/how you would feel if one opened on your street etc. Part of the project is talking to local people to find out what their opinions and experiences are. Manchester City Council and BBC Manchester have also been involved (the latter for an expose on the sex industry in Manchester).


Have you lived or do you live near a lap dance club? Was it noisy, intimidating, perfectly fine? Do you approve/disapprove? Would you care/not care if a club opened in your local vicinity? Do you think it is "just good fun" or something other than that? Do you really not care either way (if not, why not?). These are all thing we are interested in finding out.



Certain areas of Manchester will receive postal questionnaires, and we are also recruiting online.



If you have something to say about lap dance clubs and/or where they are located, there is a questionnaire you can answer at this location http://www.lapdanceonyourstreet.co.uk/. Interviewees are also being recruited so leave your contact details or message me if you would like to take part in an interview.


The research is affiliated with the University of Kent (far away, I know, but that is where the money came from!)


x Joanne

[celeste]

I just think it's very sleazy

[caduceus]

I'm sure there's a time and a place - I just can't think of either.
 
Surely, nobody would want them anywhere in the vicinity of residential areas?  I would certainly not like to think of children growing in an area that they would be exposed to any kind of adult theme well before their time.  Perhaps it's just me.

[Davidbowie]

This is just how Manchester city council spends money!!!

A questionnaire on lapdance clubs!!

What a bunch of money wasters I can tell you the answer now with out spending any cash .

No one wants them
In there area but Manchester city center it's fine .

There you go who Evers being paid thousands of pounds there's your answer.
It's time Manchester city council was not run by money wasters and start prioritizing on real issues .... Health - education - jobs
Not where lap dance clubs open!!!

[JoanneM]

Sorry, just to clarify the project is affiliated with and funded by Kent University, not Manchester City Council (who invited written responses to this issue a couple of months ago but did not have a set questionnaire). 

[Davidbowie]

So let's get this straight a university in Kent is funding this bizarre effort .
Manchester city council has nothing to do with it!

For the love of god .... Why ?

If this is what university's in Kent are interested in then god helps us all!

[Cupcake]

Seems to me that companies running such clubs might be interested in the detailed opinions of more than one resident in more than one area.  If I was thinking of investing a million quid in a new business, I'd quite like to be sure the local residents wouldn't be picketing the doorways.  I might even make some funding available for research to check.

[Davidbowie]

This has got to he the weirdest subject I have ever read about!

Let's get this straight

A university in Kent wants to know the social impact of a strip club in Manchester so they can be placed in areas where no one is offended.

And the replys we get is as if some great business people  are  funding it for market research!

This is a place lads go to see women get there boobs out and give them a smile ... What market research you need for this is totally beyond me ...

No wonder England's in a recession with stupid stuff like this going on!!!

What next will a university in Devon pay for a research into where to put sex shops next to schools or in a high street in a town center ?....hmm I wonder?

[JoanneM]

The reason this particular project is happening now is off the back of the recent changes to the way lap dance clubs are licensed. They used to just be Public Entertainment, and therefore there was little a local council could do if a club wanted to open next to a school in a residential area etc. The law changes mean have extended the grounds on which objections to a club can be made, so local people can have more say. This means that every time a club wants to open somewhere, this whole debate will come up and they will have to go through a decision making procedure to see if it can open.


I am doing this project to find out more about what people really think, what their experiences have been, how they feel about contacting the council about this matter etc. This feeds into the whole new licensing thing, because it is a new process which is kind of feeling its way. I chose Manchester as a global city (I am also looking at Macclesfield and more generally around the UK), with several long running clubs.


There are quite a few projects on lap dance in the UK at the moment, a big one just happened in Leeds talking to dancers and customers. I guess it is important to people who strongly oppose it, to people who work in the industry, and if one proposes to open next door to you, it becomes pretty relevant. Its also feeds into the debates around the regulation of sex work and night time venues, how to cultivate a successful and vibrant night time economy for a big city etc.... So, basically, they are some of the reasons. 

[Cupcake]

This has got to he the weirdest subject I have ever read about!

Let's get this straight

A university in Kent wants to know the social impact of a strip club in Manchester so they can be placed in areas where no one is offended.

And the replys we get is as if some great business people  are  funding it for market research!

This is a place lads go to see women get there boobs out and give them a smile ... What market research you need for this is totally beyond me ...

No wonder England's in a recession with stupid stuff like this going on!!!

What next will a university in Devon pay for a research into where to put sex shops next to schools or in a high street in a town center ?....hmm I wonder?

Just out of interest, is every post you make on here going to be ranting, rude, a kick at the council or a sneer at someone else?  If so, I can avoid reading any more, cos I've really got the gist now.   

[Davidbowie]

In what way is it rude?

Good old fashioned northern common sense , if your not happy with my points then your more than welcome to say so but please do base them with facts rather than rants...ok

Just for the record I'm not expecting any strip club owners to be on this forum complaining about my posts....but hey cupcake you could be one of the working girls who needs a survey carried out to see the social impact of it all!

If that's the case I hang my head in shame

[celeste]

Just for the record I'm not expecting any strip club owners to be on this forum complaining about my posts....but hey cupcake you could be one of the working girls who needs a survey carried out to see the social impact of it all!

 
MOD. NOTE:  That sort of comment is not acceptable

[Davidbowie]

  not sure what I said that was not acceptable , however the mod is always right so ... I hang me head in shame.

[Cupcake]

In what way is it rude to barge into a thread and belittle the research in an aggressive tone?  If you really need that explaining to you, then perhaps you ought to actually read the forum rules before posting again? 
 
And as you are a newbie, I will let your extremely rude personal post to me pass without the response you deserve.  Suffice it to say that your posts in this thread and others are based on nothing more than your own opinion and you seem to rather over-value that.
 
   

[caduceus]

The reason this particular project is happening now is off the back of the recent changes to the way lap dance clubs are licensed. They used to just be Public Entertainment, and therefore there was little a local council could do if a club wanted to open next to a school in a residential area etc. The law changes mean have extended the grounds on which objections to a club can be made, so local people can have more say. This means that every time a club wants to open somewhere, this whole debate will come up and they will have to go through a decision making procedure to see if it can open.


I am doing this project to find out more about what people really think, what their experiences have been, how they feel about contacting the council about this matter etc. This feeds into the whole new licensing thing, because it is a new process which is kind of feeling its way. I chose Manchester as a global city (I am also looking at Macclesfield and more generally around the UK), with several long running clubs.


There are quite a few projects on lap dance in the UK at the moment, a big one just happened in Leeds talking to dancers and customers. I guess it is important to people who strongly oppose it, to people who work in the industry, and if one proposes to open next door to you, it becomes pretty relevant. Its also feeds into the debates around the regulation of sex work and night time venues, how to cultivate a successful and vibrant night time economy for a big city etc.... So, basically, they are some of the reasons. 

Well I for one am happy that there are people who are prepared to put the effort in to understand all aspects.  As I said before, I'm sure there's a time and a place - to keep all happy, it is key these debates are had to find both, minus senseless rants of course.
 
We had a similar issue a few years ago in Newcastle and the club was indeed blocked from opening, although I'm sure clubs already exist - perhaps opening under pre-exisiting laws?  It's good news that such an emotive point is open for discussion to all it impacts, particularly if it results in a contribution to the final decisions.
 
Again, just my humble thoughts.