Sex establishment licence
Sex establishments are required to be licensed under the Local
Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. You
need a licence to run a sex shop - ie any premises selling sex
toys, books or videos or a venue where explicit films are shown to
members of the public.
Tower Hamlets council has made a resolution that no sex
establishments will be permitted – although you can make an
application and appeal against the decision.
When considering an application for a sex establishment licence,
we may only use the following criteria:
- The suitability of the applicant
- Whether the person applying is a "front" person for someone
else
- The location and situation of the premises in relation to other
premises in the area
- Whether the number of sex establishments in that locality is
equal to, or exceeds the number which the council considers
appropriate for the area.
The law defines the way in which an application is made, which
include advertising notice of the application in the local press
and displaying a notice outside the premises for a specific time
period to give passers-by the opportunity to comment on it by a
statutory closing date.
Fees will be payable for applications and conditions may be
attached.
Your
right of appeal
Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a licence or by
any condition to which a licence is subject, may appeal to the
Magistrates court. An appeal against a decision made at the
Magistrates court may be appealed at the Crown court, but the
decision of the Crown court is final.
Anybody who operates a sex establishment without a licence, or
fails to comply with licence conditions, or admits persons under
the age of 18 is committing an offence. Penalties upon conviction
can range from £1,000 to £20,000.
Copies of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
1963 can be obtained from
Office of Public Sector Information, or a copy can be inspected
at our offices where you may also obtain details of the fee, an
application form and further help or advice.
You can also
apply online through the Businesslink website.
Contact us
Tower Hamlets Licensing Team
Mulberry Place (AH)
PO Box 55739
5 Clove Crescent
E14 1BY
Open: 9am to 5pm – Mon to Fri
Tel: 020 7364 5008
Fax: 020 7364 0863
Email: licensing@towerhamlets.gov.uk