Go-ahead for Senior lap-dance club

Bob Senior, the boss of bar and nightclub company Utopian Leisure, has won licensing for a new lap-dance club in Newcastle.

The 90-capacity venue will be called Officer's Deck and will be sited above Utopian's Navy Club, the new name for @Home bar.

The lap-dance club is expected to open in a month's time and will be the fourth in the city - the other three are owned by Ladhar Group.

The lap-dance club was given the go-ahead despite a 2,000 signature of opposition, signed by the Bishop of Newcatle.

Officer's Deck will not open until 7.30pm on a Sunday evening, half an hour after the end of evensong at nearby St Nicholas Church.

Senior, who will run the venue outside of Utopian, said: "There will not be a great deal to spend on the site - it was previously a restaurant called Establishment. ​

"We will see what the margins are - it's likely to be a low volume, high-volume business."

Utopian has been laying on topless barmaids at its Sam Jack's venue in the city on Saturday afternoons and seing crowds of between 600 and 800.