PLANS have been submitted to renew the licence of a well-known lap dancing club in York.

Black Orchid in Toft Green has applied to City of York Council’s Gambling, Licensing and Regulatory Committee for its licence to be renewed - and a decision is set to be made at a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, November 17).

The application, by Black Orchid’s parent company Tokyo Industries, asks for opening hours from 10pm until 3.30am - and from 6pm until 4.30am on York Racecourse race days.

And, following a council consultation, no objections to the application to renew the licence have been received.

In 2018, North Yorkshire Police objected to the longer hours on race days, saying councillors should stick to the new policy the council had introduced, blocking sexual entertainment before 9pm.

But the objection was rejected on the grounds that the club had been running at those times on race days for four years without giving rise to any complaints.

When the venue first opened, the then owner Paul Gourlay said it would bring a 'size and quality' of lap dancing that York has never seen before.

He added: “No expense has been spared in ensuring Black Orchid has an upmarket contemporary look and feel.”

He said the interior featured a central stage, several champagne suites, a VIP lounge area and state of the art light and sound, and a dedicated whiskey lounge would offer an extensive list of aged classics and new, award-winning whiskeys.

Meanwhile, a sex shop in York city centre has also applied to have its licence renewed.

The council licensing panel will be asked to grant a further 12 month sex establishment permit for The Adult Shop in Gillygate.

The store has been based in Gillygate for more than 20 years - since 1997 - and a report says the council has not received a complaint about the shop during that time.

The application, by Lilacgrange Limited, asks for permission to operate as a sex shop, with opening hours from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday, and 12pm to 5pm on Sundays.

The report says: “Sex shops are defined in the legislation as any premises, vehicle or stall used for a business which consists to a significant degree of selling, hiring, exchanging, lending, displaying or demonstrating sex articles; or other things intended for use in connection with, or for the purpose of stimulating or encouraging sexual activity."

The shop was granted permission to open on Sundays in 2003.

This was despite a row with some members of the Salvation Army who worship at the group’s Gillygate Citadel, opposite the sex shop.