Joy as chance for lap dance appeal passes

nlnews@archant.co.uk
21 October 2009

Music Palace

THE DEATH knell for a lap dancing club bid in Crouch End finally sounded this week.

The passing of a vital deadline was greeted with relief by campaigners, who have fought an eight-month battle with the owners of Music Palace in Tottenham Lane, Crouch End, against them running a nude lap dance club yards from a primary school, hostel and family homes.

The applicant, Serdal Ziya, had until Friday to indicate intent to appeal against Haringey Council, which threw out her bid to run lap dancing at the club - a former Salvation Army building - until 2am Mondays to Saturdays.

But the council confirmed it had not heard from Miss Ziya before the deadline.

Campaigners were thrilled at the news.

Lindsay Wright, a member of the Lap Off! campaign group, who lives in nearby Hermiston Avenue, said: "It is a massive relief. We are very, very pleased that they chose not to go down the appeal route.

"At the first meeting at the Music Palace everybody was despondent, because we thought it was a foregone conclusion. We much felt like we were the underdogs.

"But if there are people around the country that are fighting these applications, they should take heart.

"Providing you are determined enough and you research it and come out with the right arguments, on the night, then you can get them turned down."

Councillor David Winskill (Liberal Democrat), Crouch End ward, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the applicants have quite rightly realised the massive level of public opposition.

"This is the product of months of intensive campaigning and hard work by residents, and will come as a great relief to all the families living in the area.

"I hope it will also put a marker down for anyone else planning any similar applications."

Councillor Nilgun Canver, Labour's cabinet member for enforcement and safer communities, said: "This will be welcome news for local residents, schools and businesses.

"A lap dancing club would have been completely unsuitable and unacceptable for this area.