Capital loses pole position in Scots strip clubs league

THE city’s status as the striptease capital of Scotland looks under threat after plans were unveiled for two new venues in Aberdeen.

Edinburgh currently holds “pole” position in Scotland, with a total of seven strip clubs.

However, two new venues – Magma and Silhouette Dance Club – applied for planning permission in the Granite City, and if allowed to open their doors later this year they will join the six existing strip venues to give Aberdeen a clear lead.

It is thought the clubs are being backed due to high demand from workers from the oil and gas industry which continues to boom in recession-defying Aberdeen.

The clubs are big business, and recently the Capital’s Fantasy Palace was granted permission to open until 3am, with lawyers arguing that venues in other cities opened that late.

However, city council licensing board member Joanna Mowat feels that the loss of the Capital’s number one status for strip clubs is nothing that residents should mourn.

She said: “If Aberdeen feels there is a demand for this number of clubs then they are welcome to the tag. Edinburgh does not revel in its role as striptease capital and I for one will not mourn its loss.

“Aberdeen has a lot of young men with disposable income entering the city from the rigs so you can understand why strip club owners would look to profit from this. Good luck to them.”

Her counterpart in Aberdeen, licensing committee member Councillor Bill Cormie, suggested the city may already have too many strip clubs but welcomed the potential business the venues would create in the city.

He said: “There is a case for over-provision in Aberdeen but we need a good night-time economy.

“There is obviously a demand for it in the city and healthy competition in any business is important.”

Robert Gordon University lecturer Professor Sarah Pedersen said the moves worried her and warned that it was not a positive message to be sending to teenagers.

She said: “Some people find clubs like these objectionable because of the message they send to young girls.

“Concerns have also been raised about the kind of clientèle these clubs attract. I think the important thing is that they are managed properly.”

The six venues in Aberdeen that already host stripping are Whisper and Kristals Gentleman’s Club, Nite Life, Number 7, Nirvana, Private Eyes and Private Eyes 2.

Edinburgh currently has seven clubs, Glasgow has four, while Paisley, Dunfermline and Dundee have one each.