Plans to open a lap dancing club in Birmingham's business district has prompted a backlash among its potential neighbours.

La Belle's would be based on Newhall Street near the junction with Great Charles Street Queensway, and open between 8pm to 6am seven days a week.

The application for a Sexual Entertainment Venue licence has been submitted to Birmingham City Council by Michelle Monaghan who runs The Cyclone Club on Broad Street and Scarlets at Horse Fair.

If successful Ms Monaghan said she would surrender her licence for Scarlets which has been forced to close multiple times in recent years due to staffing problems and structural issues with the building.

While the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Hippodrome have consistently objected to its annual licence renewal arguing it is inappropriate for a lap dancing club to be located near to their venues.

A mock-up of how La Belle's would look on Newhall Street. Submitted in SEV application to Birmingham City Council.
A mock-up of how La Belle's would look on Newhall Street. Submitted in SEV application to Birmingham City Council.

But the proposal to open up a new club on the other side of the city centre has been met with equal disapproval.

The city council has received more than 40 objections from restaurant owners, businesses and residents of nearby apartments all arguing that a lap dancing club would be unsuitable for the area.

A statement from Knight's Coffee House also on Newhall Street, said: "We are opposite this venue and start our working day just after 6am in the mornings.

"We do not want the drunken testosterone males coming out of this venue and disturbing our regular customers who like to come to our coffee shop before they start their working day."

Further objections point to the close proximity of 'impressionable' students attending university nearby.

Scarlets Lapdancing club on Horse Fair

While a resident of Millennium Apartments on Newhall Street said they reacted with 'total horror' upon learning about the proposal adding: "We cannot understand how this can even be contemplated as it is the heart of the Birmingham city centre/business centre and therefore a place where people work during the day and sleep during the night.

"It is totally inappropriate to situate a venue of this type here with the opening hours of 8pm to 6am."

Summarising the feeling of most objectors Gary Cardin, chairman of Colmore Business District said: "We hope the authority would agree that the number of Sexual Entertainment Venues in the locality are equal to the appropriate number i.e. nil."

The council's Licensing and Public Protection Committee will determine the application on Thursday.

Council licensing officers and West Midlands Police have not objected.