Ipswich Borough Council has adopted amendments made to Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and, as a result, all forms of sex establishment will now require a licence from the Council.

What is a Sex Establishment?

A sex establishment means:

• a sex cinema
• a sex shop
• or sexual entertainment venue.

Who can apply?

An applicant that wishes to apply for a Sex Establishment Licence must:

• be at least 18 years old
• not be disqualified from holding a Sex Establishment Licence
• have been resident of an EEA State at least six months immediately before the application or, if a body corporate, must be incorporated in an EEA State
• not have been refused the grant or renewal of a licence for the premises in question within the last 12 months unless the refusal has been reversed on appeal.

How to apply

To make an application you will need to contact us for the relevant application form and provide us with the following:

• a completed application form
• a scale plan
• any additional information in support of the application (where applicable)

You will also need to:

• advertise your application in a local newspaper
• notify the police of your application (only if you have not submitted an online application

Once you have carried out the following your application will be processed.

Apply for a Sex Establishment licence

If your licence is granted it will last for 12 months, unless a shorter period has been specified. 

The holder of a licence may apply for a variation of the terms and conditions of a licence, transfer a licence or cancel a licence at any time. Find out more.

How long will it take to process my application?

We will normally contact you within five working days of making your application.  If we have not contacted you within this period please contact us to check that your application was correctly made and received. 

Once we have received all Responsible Authority comments and public representations as well as taken into account the standard conditions, your application will be heard by the Council's Licensing & Regulatory Committee. Standard applications with no objections will take a minimum of four weeks to process.  If there are objections this time period is increased, and your application is likely to take four to eight weeks to process depending on the date of the next Licensing & Regulatory Committee meeting.

What conditions will be attached to a licence?

Ipswich Borough Council have put together standard conditions to include aspects such as the permitted hours of opening and closing and the visibility to passers by etc. 

Where a licence is granted, renewed or transferred, licences will be presumed to be subject to these conditions unless they have been expressly excluded or varied. Download our Standard Conditions.

Licence holders may at any time apply to Ipswich Borough Council for a variation of the terms, conditions or restrictions in their licence.

A holder of a licence must keep a copy of the licence and the conditions exhibited in a suitable place.

Refusal of a Licence

Where Ipswich Borough Council refuses to grant, renew, or transfer a licence, it will provide in writing to the applicant a statement containing the reasons for it's decision. The fee is not refundable.