WIRRAL council is set to introduce a new licensing policy for sex venues – despite there being no legal requirement to have one.

The move comes as the controversy surrounding Peachez – the Birkenhead lap dancing club which refuses to close – rages on.

Currently, central government laws allow councils to “control the number and location” of sex establishments including cinemas, shops and “entertainment venues”. This includes conditions ranging from the suitability of door staff to the age of performers.

But since the latest amendment to that act came into force in 2011, the council has received and approved one application for a sexual entertainment venue licence – baelieved to be Peachez.

During that process, it was decided a new sex licensing policy to deal with applications and specific to Wirral was needed.

The plan is recommended for approval, and will mean the local authority will soon have a further set of rules and conditions governing whether they can be handed out or not.

The licence policy will cover “relevant entertainment” including live performances or any live displays of nudity, including lap dancing, pole dancing, strip shows, peep shows and live sex shows.

In its reasons for recommending the move, the report, to be discussed by the council’s licensing health and safety and general purposes committee on Thursday, said: “Whilst there is no statutory requirement to have a Sex Licensing Policy, such a policy could be relied upon should there be a legal challenge in respect of decisions made relating to licensing sex establishments.”

The draft policy, which will be used to determine applications, will judge aspects such as the suitability of an applicant, the number of sex venues already in the nearby area and the surroundings of the development.

It would be inappropriate for a new venue to be sited near synagogues or churches, as well as parks, swimming pools or schools, the policy added.

The owner would also be assessed to confirm they are “honest” and “qualified by experience to run the type of sex establishment in question”.

Costs incurred by the move will be recovered from licence fees, the report said. It added that if a policy was not approved by councillors, it would result in a “lack of transparency, accountability, certainty and consistency in respect of decision making”.

Members are also recommended to approve plans for all sex licensing decisions to be made by the committee itself.

It comes as Peachez, the controversial lap dancing club on Conway Street which was refused retrospective planning permission – is still open, and determined to stay that way.

It was refused on the grounds that it would “not promote a positive image of the area”, despite having already been granted a sexual entertainment venue licence by the council.

Now the club is appealing the refusal.