Town's first sex shop given go-ahead

IPSWICH is hotting up.

Councillors have given the go-ahead for the town's first ever sex shop.

Sixx in Upper Orwell Street has become the first premises to be granted a sex shop licence by Ipswich Borough Council.

Although the town already has retailers offering adult goods, such as Secrets in Norwich Road, a sex shop can sell more explicit material.

The licence means owners Suzanne Phipps and Gill Walton can also sell R (restricted) 18 videos and DVD's on top of their existing products, which include adult toys, PVC clothing, body paint, corsets and basques.

Sixx opened in December on the site of the former Adult Shop, which turned out to be a coincidence because the lease became available.

Mrs Wolton, said: "Sixx is far removed from the historic images of adult shops – old men in dirty macs and shops with blacked out windows – I think that Anne Summers did a lot for the industry in that sense.

"I think the fact that we were granted a licence is because we met lots of criteria, such as location.

"It really wouldn't be appropriate to have it near a school or residential area. The street is predominantly retail, although a lot of the units are unused.

"The council also looked into our backgrounds. The two operational directors are both female and come from professional backgrounds.

She welcomed the strict legislation imposed by the issuing of a licence.

"We believe that by having tight control over these establishments the government is on the way to preventing the sale of uncensored videos and other material on the black market.

"We have worked closely with the government to ensure our shop conforms to all standards."

The company is also looking to open and licence a further eight shops elsewhere with a view to franchising the units.

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