South London neighbours are divided over a strip club’s plans to open later on weekends. Stir777 first opened on Kingston High Street in 2018.
Stir777 Ltd has now applied to Kingston Council to extend its permitted closing time from 2.30am to 3am on Mondays to Wednesdays under a new sex establishment licence, which is the same time it already shuts on Thursdays. The company also applied to extend its closing time from 4am to 5am on Fridays and Saturdays. The venue opens at 10pm.
The application drew one objection and five letters of support. One supporter wrote that female residents had “voiced understandable unease about the nature of the business” but the venue operating as a strip club “has had no negative impact”.
They said the venue first operated as a standard nightclub, which led to ‘regular late night disturbance and rowdiness which impacted the quality of life’ of residents but that they ‘have not experienced any similar problems associated with the clientele’ since it has been a strip club.
Another resident added: “My support is based on my lived experience in close proximity to this club for many years, and I believe its continued function by the current operator is valuable to the local community because it creates zero crime, zero noise and zero antisocial behaviour to the locality, but it does provide a security and responsible presence all the time it is open.”
Strip777 Ltd has also applied for a new premises licence to follow the extended opening hours requested under the separate sex establishment licence application. The changes would allow the venue to host dance performances and play recorded music from 10pm to 3am on Mondays to Thursdays, and from 10pm to 5am on Fridays and Saturdays. It would also be able to sell booze from 10pm to 2.30am on Mondays to Thursdays, and from 10pm to 4.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
This application attracted two objections and four letters of support. One objector wrote that hearing of the plans filled them with ‘dread’ and residents surrounding the venue would ‘pay a huge price’ if they are approved, with particular concerns they would be disturbed by noise.
But another resident said they supported the application as they get ‘no noise and no antisocial behaviour’ from the venue, in contrast to the ‘unregulated chaos’ they find further into the town centre. Another supporter described the club as a ‘breath of fresh air’ that does not cause any issues. They added: “It’s nice to have a late night place to go to socially that is not a loud and obnoxious nightclub full of drunk students which is what the rest of the town offers.”
The council’s licensing committee discussed both applications at separate hearings on April 8. Applicant Damon Wellman said Stir777 has only received one complaint since opening in 2018 which was resolved, while the new premises licence would slash the number of people allowed inside the venue from 220 to 65. He said: “That’s how we operate. Less people make less noise – it’s much more controllable. In reality, we probably never have more than half of that which is why we’re able to have the record that we’ve got of no dispersal noise.”
Mr Wellman told the committee the strip club has been operating from 10pm to 3am on Wednesdays under temporary event notices for the past six months without any issues. He added that he had investigated the objection raising concerns about potential noise from the venue and found no evidence to support the claims. He stressed it is ‘not a noisy venue’ and it has not caused any problems in the six years it has been open. The committee’s decisions on both applications will be published in the coming days.
Image: Stir777, 48 High Street, Kingston. Credit: Google Maps
