A Leeds strip club has had its license renewed for a year following a council hearing on Tuesday 13 June.
Councillors were told by a representative of Whiskey Down that the Playboy Mansion-inspired gentleman's club operated "safely" and "within the rules."
They were also informed that the club had updated its dancer welfare pack to include details of trade unions, following a request from the council last year.
The strip club, which is reportedly inspired by Hugh Hefner's library, is lined with bookcases and filled with wingback chairs and leather chesterfields.
Advertised on the club's website there is also a 'revenge' room with a large sphere cage, cuffs and whips, and a bedroom in which performers are handcuffed to an oversized four poster bed for an 'extended private show.'
It offers exclusive application-only membership tiers and describes itself on its website as a 'super luxurious playground'.
Whiskey Down also features a Games Room inspired by Bruce Wayne’s Gotham Manor complete with a pool table and retro playboy pinball machine.
The club’s general manager, Marcus Bentley, told the hearing: “To my knowledge we’ve not had any adverse reaction from local neighbours. I think we still get on with our neighbours, the ones we still have.
“The most important thing on our side is the performers.
“Whatever they’d like we do try to appease them. I feel we’ve done that.
“We operate within the rules and I think we operate quite safely.”
The club, which is operated by Tokyo Industries, has had issues getting its license renewed in the past after receiving complaints from neighbours, Leeds Civic Trust and a local charity Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL).
In 2018, Leeds Civic Trust raised concerns that the club could cause 'harm' to the local area, arguing that it was 'inappropriate for this important historic building (25 Crown Point) to be used for this function'.
The same year, SARSVL argued that "It (the council) should have adopted a zero tolerance of sex establishments policy but in the absence of this SARSVL does not believe that LCC should license these sex establishments as it is incompatible with the Equality Act 2010, Violence Against Women Strategy and Child Friendly Leeds policy."
However, this week the council hearing was told that a routine visit by the police and enforcement officers had found no safety or welfare concerns and Whiskey Down has now had its license renewed for another 12 months.
Asked if there had been any criminal activity at the venue that needed to be reported, Mr Bentley said: “We can have the odd person we’ve had to eject.
“I don’t think any of those have been created into a police matter. We have very, very good CCTV capturing the front of the building and round the back of the Corn Exchange and we provide the police with evidence of crimes (in the area) which are not related to us.”
The club's license has been renewed on the promise that Whiskey Down will keep to a number of specified conditions, including advertising restrictions.
Featured image - Whiskey Down
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Georgina Pellant -
14th June 2023 
