8:10am Saturday 3rd November 2007
By Staff reporter
THE owners of a club in Winnington are to appeal after it was refused a sex establishment licence.
Toga Toga Ltd in Winnington Lane houses swingers club Toga Toga and festish club Spanked after owner Alex Hughes took it over earlier this year.
At a meeting of the licensing sub committee he and co-owner Walter Johnston told members they were unaware when they took over the lease that they needed to apply for the licence.
They admitted they had not been aware how close the proposed Winnington Urban Village would be.
But they told the committee there was no intention to advertise the club locally but only on the Internet and in specialist publications, and since opening there had been no problems with the police.
But members of a licencing sub committee decided the location and situation of the club in relation to other premises in the area was not appropriate having regard to the character of the locality as one of mixed industrial, commercial and residential use.
They were specifically concerned about the close proximity of the day nursery and permitted residential development.
They also said the number of sex establishments considered suitable for the Winnington area was nil and therefore the granting of such an application would exceed this figure.
After the decision Toga Toga Ltd's manager Dave Ortegga said they would appeal.
He said: "This is a members' club.
"We are not advertising for members of the public to come in.
"It is all completely behind closed doors.
"These councillors who sat on the committee are representatives of the people, yet there have been no objections to the nature of our business at all.
"We went through the application process and there was not one objection."
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