Owner Defends Practices At Brighton Sex Entertainment Venue

Councillors will decide whether a “sex entertainment venue” can renew its licence after 18 people sent objections to Brighton and Hove City Council.

The objectors said that the Pussycat Club, at 75 Grand Parade, Brighton, was in an unsuitable location and would affect the safety of young women and girls.

As a result, the council has scheduled a licensing panel hearing before three councillors on Monday 17 February.

The Pussycat Club’s licence permits the sale of drink and “nude lapdancing” from noon to 3.30am Monday to Thursday, and noon to 5am Friday and Saturday.

As a sex entertainment venue, its owner Saltire Investments Limited is required to renew the licence annually.

The business is owned by Kristopher McGrath, 36, who said that the business had not received so many objections since it opened in 1998.

Campaign group Sister Salon announced last June that it would object to the licence renewal.

One anonymous objector, who details were redacted by the council, includes links to news stories about the business’s previous owner Kenneth McGrath, 68, saying that he was a registered sex offenders for life after being convicted in 2017.

He resigned from Saltire Investments in February 2013.

The objection said that, according to council policy, a sex entertainment venue would not be licensed within sightline of colleges, public buildings and community facilities.

But the venue is close to Brighton University, Brighton Language College, the main Jubilee library, Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum, the law courts, police station and probation service.

The objection also said:

“Granting this licence breaches the council’s (sex entertainment venue) policy, according to its location criteria.

“The club is in central Brighton – a residential area with high footfall which also serves as a main shopping area.

“It is practically on the university campus, very close to where a primary school and churches are in an area of consistent and historically high crime.”

Another anonymous objector, whose details were also redacted by the council, said that it came from a “women’s group”. It also said that members considered sex entertainment venues as outdated and making public spaces unsafe for women.

In its letter, the group sent links and images from social media – redacted in the papers – which it said violated council policy.

The group said:

“They include sexual contact between dancers, dancers’ personal contact details, breaks ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) regulations regarding nudity and includes images on the (Pussycat Club’s) social media of women in bedrooms.

“We believe the council’s sex entertainment venue) policy is inadequate as does not address social media activity, or acknowledge that this is frequently a medium for purchasing sex, with a high probability that this leads directly to the exploitation of trafficked women.”

Kristopher McGrath has responded to the comments and pointed out he has been Saltire Investment’s only director since 2016.

The business was the first club of its type in the city, opening in 1998, and has a limited street presence, does not open before 10pm and is currently only open at weekends

He said all the dancers are there by choice and many have been linked with the business for years “because they feel safe and appreciated”.

Mr McGrath said:

“These objections are not specific to the Pussycat Club and are unsubstantiated comments on the industry as a whole.

“We would highlight that we have regular contact with Sussex Police and Brighton council to ensure that we comply with all regulations.

“Our most recent visit from both of these parties was Friday 31 January, following which we received positive feedback from Sussex Police on the actions we are taking to support the prevention of drugs being used.”

The panel is scheduled to meet at Hove Town Hall at 10am on Monday 17 February.